New collaboration between PAHO and AIDS Healthcare Foundation to expand early HIV diagnosis in Latin America and the Caribbean

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 27 July 2026 (PAHO) - The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will collaborate to expand early HIV diagnosis in Latin America and the Caribbean, with the aim of improving access to testing, facilitating timely linkage to care, and helping reduce preventable AIDS-related deaths.

Despite significant progress in the HIV response across Latin America and the Caribbean, late diagnosis remains one of the main challenges to reducing new HIV infections and AIDS-related mortality, and to advancing toward the elimination of HIV as a public health problem. In 2025, approximately 34% of new HIV diagnoses in the region were made at an advanced stage of infection, while an estimated 32,000 people died from AIDS-related causes.

The joint initiative forms part of broader efforts to accelerate progress toward eliminating HIV as a public health problem in the Americas. The partnership will leverage the complementary expertise of both organizations to expand access to testing services, strengthen linkage to care, and accelerate the adoption of innovative strategies across the region.

"We continue to see far too many people in our region learning their HIV status only after the infection has progressed to an advanced stage, reducing opportunities to prevent serious complications and avoidable deaths," said Monica Alonso, Chief of PAHO's HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections, Viral Hepatitis, Tuberculosis and Malaria Unit. "Expanding access to testing and ensuring that people are rapidly linked to care and treatment is essential to reducing AIDS-related deaths and saving more lives across the Americas," she added.

The collaboration was announced during PAHO's satellite session, "The Last Mile to Elimination: Reducing Mortality from Advanced HIV Disease," held at the International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2026) in Rio de Janeiro. The session brought together government representatives, community organizations, international agencies, and strategic partners to discuss the barriers that continue to limit timely access to HIV diagnosis and treatment.

While the region has made major gains over recent decades, thousands of people continue to be diagnosed at an advanced stage of infection. Late diagnosis remains a major contributor to HIV-related illness and death, despite the availability of effective testing methods and treatments that enable people living with HIV to lead long and healthy lives.

In 2025, approximately 2.1 million people living with HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean were receiving antiretroviral therapy, representing a regional treatment coverage rate of 72%. However, an estimated 900,000 people were still not receiving treatment, and loss to follow-up remains one of the major barriers to achieving regional HIV targets.

The collaboration between PAHO and AHF will support actions to expand access to HIV testing, including HIV self-testing and community-based service delivery models. It will also seek to strengthen linkage to and retention in care, promote the exchange of experiences among countries, and generate evidence to identify and scale up high-impact interventions.

"Closing the remaining gaps in the HIV response requires far more than having effective tools available. We must ensure they reach the people who need them, at the right time and in ways that reflect the realities of each country and community," said Dr. Adele Benzaken, AHF's Senior Global Medical Director. AHF is a nonprofit organization that provides HIV-related services in 50 countries and operates in 11 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean.

"The collaboration between AHF and PAHO provides an opportunity to combine implementation experience, innovation, and technical cooperation with a regional perspective, helping accelerate our progress toward HIV elimination in the Americas," she added.

PAHO and AHF will work with national health authorities, community organizations, and other partners to adapt and implement interventions that respond to the specific needs and contexts of individual countries.

For PAHO, expanding access to HIV testing is a fundamental component of the HIV response. However, barriers to diagnosis and care persist, particularly among populations in situations of vulnerability.

The initiative aligns with global commitments to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 and will contribute to the goals of PAHO's Disease Elimination Initiative. It will also support the priorities of the Alliance for HIV Elimination in the Americas, a regional platform led by PAHO that seeks to accelerate the adoption of innovations, strengthen technical cooperation, and expand equitable access to HIV prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.