AHF and PAHO Announce Collaboration to Strengthen the HIV Response in Latin America

RÍO DE JANEIRO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), which works in 11 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) today announced a collaboration agreement to expand early HIV diagnosis and bring testing closer to people.

“Closing the gaps that persist in the HIV response requires much more than having effective tools: we need to ensure they reach the people who need them, at the right time, and in ways that reflect the realities of each community.” — Dr. Adele Benzaken

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The agreement aims to close gaps that continue to drive high levels of preventable HIV-related mortality in the region by strengthening not only access to diagnosis, but also timely linkage to care, early initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART), and retention in care within health services.

The announcement was made by Dr. Adele Benzaken, AHF Senior Global Medical Director, during her presentation, “HIV Testing and Reengagement in Care in Latin America and the Caribbean,” at the PAHO-organized satellite session “The Last Mile Toward Elimination: Reducing Mortality from Advanced HIV Disease,” held as part of the AIDS 2026 Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This satellite session seeks to catalyze coordinated action among governments, communities, international organizations, academia and strategic partners to advance toward the goal of zero AIDS-related deaths by 2030.

The collaboration between AHF and PAHO seeks to translate existing evidence and recommendations into concrete interventions that reach people earlier and more effectively. The agreement includes strengthening differentiated and innovative diagnostic models, including self-testing strategies and services built on community networks; improving linkage to and retention in care; integrating prevention and other sexually transmitted infection services; and generating evidence to identify and scale up the highest-impact interventions.

“Closing the gaps that persist in the HIV response requires much more than having effective tools: we need to 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. “The collaboration between AHF and PAHO represents an opportunity to combine implementation experience, innovation and technical cooperation through a regional lens, thereby accelerating our progress toward the elimination of HIV in the Americas.”

One of the central elements of this collaboration is precisely its regional perspective. The challenges countries face in responding to HIV include the need to expand diagnosis, ensure continuity of care, and reach populations that remain outside health services. Strengthening regional coordination and collaboration makes it possible to share solutions, accelerate cross-country learning, leverage existing capacities and adapt successful interventions to different contexts. In this way, technical cooperation and regional exchange can help innovations and good practices transcend national borders and generate greater impact across Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Advancing toward the elimination of HIV requires a collective effort and the accelerated implementation of interventions that have demonstrated results, with people and communities at the center of the response,” said Dr. Mónica Alonso Gonzalez, Chief of PAHO’s HIV/STI, Tuberculosis, Viral Hepatitis and Malaria Unit. “The collaboration with AHF will help strengthen strategies focused on expanding early diagnosis, improving continuity of care and facilitating the exchange of experiences, contributing to bringing effective solutions to scale across the region.”

The partnership is grounded in the recognition that, despite significant progress in the HIV response, late diagnosis, interruptions in care, and barriers to achieving and maintaining viral suppression continue to contribute to preventable mortality. The AIDS 2026 session at which the announcement was made focuses precisely on these gaps and on the need to strengthen early diagnosis, care for advanced HIV disease, and access to essential commodities and interventions.

The collaboration will combine the implementation of priority interventions in selected countries with regional technical cooperation and capacity-strengthening activities. This approach seeks to leverage experience accumulated across different national contexts and convert it into shared knowledge that helps strengthen the HIV response throughout the region.

For AHF, advancing toward the elimination of AIDS requires a response that combines local action, national leadership and stronger regional coordination. Working jointly with PAHO helps reduce fragmentation, connect experiences and capacities across countries, and accelerate the adoption of solutions that have proven effective.

With this new agreement, AHF and PAHO are reinforcing their collaboration to help build a more accessible, equitable, innovative and people-centered HIV response, while reaffirming the value of regional cooperation as a fundamental tool for closing the gaps that persist in Latin America and the Caribbean.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is a global nonprofit organization providing cutting-edge medical care and advocacy to more than 3 million people in 50 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia/Pacific and Europe. AHF is currently the largest nonprofit provider of HIV/AIDS medical care in the world.

To learn more about AHF, visit www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook at facebook.com/AHFcares, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @aidshealthcare.