By Health Times Reporter in Kigali, Rwanda
The 13th International AIDS Society (IAS) 2025 conference opened today in Kigali with a powerful call to action: ‘Communities must lead the fight to end HIV’. Over 5,000 scientists, activists, and policymakers gathered to celebrate scientific progress while demanding urgent investment in grassroots solutions.
Rosemary Mburu, a seasoned HIV advocate, set an inspiring tone with her speech. “Before the global partnerships and wonder drugs, it was communities, armed with love and courage, who faced the darkness of the epidemic,” she stated. Emphasizing the vital role of high-risk populations, Mburu warned that without ‘community action, leadership, and accountability,’ the world risks undoing decades of progress.
Her call to action struck a chord in Rwanda, a country that has cut new HIV infections in half since 2010 through community-led efforts. “Science is not just data. It is dignity. It can be power and science without community, is like a body without a soul,” added Mburu.
Key Takeaways: -Fund communities directly: flexible and ongoing financing for grassroots groups is essential. -Expand access to innovations: Increase availability of long-acting PrEP and address unjust pricing. -African Leadership: Domestic funding and regional collaboration need to replace donor dependency. -Protect Science: Defend evidence-based solutions from political interference.
Jeanine Condo, IAS 2025 Co-Chair, emphasized the symbolic importance of the conference in Africa, which accounts for 70 percent of the world’s HIV cases. “We meet at a critical point, where dwindling funds threaten to undo hard-won progress,” she said. “But, African innovation, such as long-acting pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and vaccine trials, provides hope.”
Condo praised the recently released World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on lenacapavir, a groundbreaking twice-yearly PrEP injection, but emphasised: “If a young woman in Kigali cannot access these tools, what is science worth?” She highlighted the Kigali Call to Action, a petition demanding global solidarity, as a roadmap to “shift from donor dependency to African ownership.”
Beatriz Grinsztejn, President of IAS, praised scientific breakthroughs such as mRNA-based cures and community-led monitoring, but voiced concern over the decreasing political support that threatens progress. She emphasized, “Science gave us U=U and PrEP. Now we must safeguard these advancements from political interference.”
Grinsztejn also called for the strengthening of local health systems. “Our movement was built on activism. We will not give up now,” she added. As the sun set over Kigali, one message was clear: The end of AIDS is possible!
