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2026 HIV High-Level Meeting: Stay engaged!
The 2026 United Nations High-Level Meeting (HLM) on HIV represents a critical global moment to assess progress, address gaps, and renew political commitment to ending HIV as a public health threat.
This moment is also critical for the Global Fund, as the Political Declaration will help shape global priorities, financing commitments, and accountability frameworks that directly influence the scale, focus, and effectiveness of Global Fund–supported programs. It also builds on recent momentum, including the outcome of the Global Fund’s 8th Replenishment, which mobilised over $12.6 billion to support the fight against HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria.
Convened by the United Nations General Assembly, the HLM will gather Member States to adopt a new Political Declaration to guide the global HIV response in the years ahead.
Registration for HIV HLM Multi stakeholder Hearing (MSH) is now open. Here is the link to register: https://bit.ly/msaids2026 There is no need for ECOSOC status to register. Please register to signal that this remains a priority for communities and civil society.
Why the 2026 HLM matters
The 2026 HLM comes at a pivotal time. While important gains have been made in expanding access to prevention, treatment, and care, significant challenges remain. 630,000 people died from HIV-related causes globally in 2023 (latest confirmed data) underscoring the urgency of accelerated action. We still see:
- Persistent inequalities in access to services
- Shrinking civic space, anti human rights movements, gender backlash and increasing restrictions on civil society and community-led responses
- Funding constraints and sustainability concerns coupled with a new focus on integrating HIV services in primary health care
- Ongoing stigma, discrimination, and criminalisation affecting key populations and people most at risk.
This HLM provides an opportunity to reaffirm commitments to human rights, equity, gender and evidence-based approaches, while ensuring that people and communities remain at the centre of the response.
The process
The HLM is preceded by a multi-step preparatory process led by the United Nations:
- Modalities Resolution: Member States negotiate and adopt a resolution that defines the scope, format, and participation modalities of the HLM, including provisions for civil society engagement. The negotiation of the modalities resolution (defines how things operate) has now been agreed and is available in different languages here. If you would like an overview of what has changed in the modalities resolution click here for a really good analysis of this conducted by Action against AIDS Germany.
- Zero Draft and Negotiations: A ‘zero draft’ of the Political Declaration will be developed and negotiated among Member States. This stage is critical for influencing commitments related to human rights, gender, community leadership, financing, and service delivery. The zero draft is expected to be available for Member States negotiations sometime in May.
- The Multi Stakeholder Consultations: A multi stakeholder consultation will take place on the 14th May 2026 to gather inputs from civil society, communities, and other stakeholders. These inputs play a key role in shaping priorities and informing the zero draft. This will be in hybrid format, given the compressed timeline. Registration closes on Wednesday, 29 April at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. You can read more about what to expect at the MSH in a short concept note accessible on this page.
- High-Level Meeting: The HLM is expected to take place on 22–23 June 2026, at UN Headquarters in New York, culminating in the adoption of the Political Declaration.
Role of civil society and communities
Civil society and community-led organisations play a central role throughout the process, advocating for ambitious commitments, safeguarding strong language on human rights, gender, community led responses and accountability, and ensuring that lived realities inform global policy. To support meaningful, inclusive, and participatory engagement, UNAIDS has established a Multistakeholder Task Force (MSTF) composed of representatives from civil society and the private sector.
The MSTF (to be cochaired by Priscilla Ama Addo, Global Network of Young People Living with HIV (Y+Global), Ghana and Erika Castellanos, Global Action for Trans Equality (GATE), Belize/Netherlands and Cleiton Euzebio de Lima, Senior Advisor for Communities and Key Populations, UNAIDS) will play a key role in shaping the multi-stakeholder hearing (MSH) and contributing to the broader HLM process.
Multistakeholder Task Force
- Cedric Nininahazwe, Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), Burundi cnininahazwe@gnpplus.net Representative openly living with HIV from networks of people living with HIV
- Olena Stryzhak, Eurasian Women’s Network on AIDS (EWNA), Positive Women (PW), International Community of Women living with HIV (ICW), Ukraine elenas@ukr.net Representative openly living with HIV from networks of women living with HIV
- Priscilla Ama Addo, Global Network of Young People Living with HIV (Y+Global), Ghana paddo@yplusglobal.org Representative openly living with HIV from networks of young people living with HIV
- Anton Basenko, International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD), Ukraine/Belgiumantonbasenko@inpud.net Representative from people who use drugs
- Carolyne Njoroge, Kenya Sex Workers Alliance (KESWA), Kenya caroln170@gmail.com Representative from sex workers
- Erika Castellanos, Global Action for Trans Equality (GATE), Belize/Netherlands ecastellanos@gate.ngoRepresentative from transgender people
- Micheal Ighodaro, Global Black Gay Men Connect, Nigeria/USA ighodaro@gmail.com Representative from gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men
- Peter Wiessner, Action against AIDS Germany, Germany wiessner@aktionsbuendnis-aids.de Representative from people in prison settings
- Jeremy Tan, PCB NGO Delegate for Asia Pacific, Malaysia jeremy@youth-lead.org A member from the UNAIDS PCB NGO delegation
- Kimberly Springer, PCB NGO Delegate for Latin America and the Caribbean, Trinidad & Tobago ttkimberly@unaidspcbngo.org A member from the UNAIDS PCB NGO delegation
- Juliana Cesar, Gestos, Brazil cesar@gestos.org.br A representative from a women’s organization, particularly working on sexual and reproductive health and rights
- Charles Innocent Chinguwo, Mzimba South Youth Network, Malawi, phiriinnocentcharles@gmail.com A representative from a young people’s organization, particularly working on sexual and reproductive health and rights
- Kawal Deep Kour, South Asia Drugs and Addictions Research Council (SA-DARC), India kawaldkour@gmail.com A representative from the private sector
- Gracia Violeta Ross, World Council of Churches, Bolivia, gracia@wcc-coe.org A representative from a faith-based organization
- Yves Miel Zuñiga, United for Global Mental Health, The Philippines, yves@unitedgmh.org A representative from networks or organizations of persons with disabilities.
- Atul Shendge, Global Coalition of TB Advocates, India, shendge26@gmail.com A representative from an organization working with Tuberculosis and HIV
- Elias Al Aaraj, The Middle East and North Africa Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA), Lebanon eaaraj@menahra.org A representative from an organization working with NCD and HIV
Members of the Task Force will:
- Contribute to the development of the format, theme, and programme of the multi-stakeholder hearing (MSH)
- Support the identification of speakers for the MSH and HLM plenary and panel discussions
- Provide a mechanism for community and civil society input on the zero draft of the Political Declaration, reflecting priorities raised during the MSH.
As much as possible we encourage civil society to become part of the Government delegation to support the process.
Key priorities
Based on emerging negotiations, the following priorities are critical to ensure an ambitious and rights-based outcome:
- Protecting and reaffirming previous commitments: Ensuring that language from earlier Political Declarations (2006, 2011, 2016, and 2021) is fully reaffirmed rather than diluted, and that existing commitments are not rolled back, while explicitly recognising and preserving the role of established global health institutions, including the Global Fund, as central to delivering on these commitments.
- Safeguarding meaningful civil society and community participation: Protecting inclusive participation mechanisms, including strong provisions for the Multi-Stakeholder Hearing and country and regional consultations, and resisting efforts to limit engagement under procedural constraints, in line with the Global Fund’s model of community and civil society engagement in governance and implementation.
- Reinforcing human rights and equity-based approaches: Ensuring explicit and strong language on human rights, gender equality, and the needs and rights of key and affected populations, and avoiding dilution through vague or generalised terminology.
- Maintaining accountability and transparency mechanisms: Preserving language that enables monitoring of progress, community-led accountability, and inclusive consultation processes led by UNAIDS, and reinforcing complementary accountability frameworks supported by the Global Fund Partnership, including country-level oversight and community-led monitoring.
- Securing sustainable and equitable financing: Reaffirming commitments to adequately fund the HIV response, including support for community-led responses and global health initiatives such as the Global Fund, and building on recent financing momentum, including the Global Fund’s 8th Replenishment, which mobilised over $12.6 billion.
- Advancing integrated, person-centred approaches: Promoting effective integration of HIV with broader health systems, including noncommunicable diseases and mental health, without undermining the specificity and gains of the HIV response and leveraging the Global Fund’s investments in resilient and sustainable systems for health.
Key resources
Don’t miss this practical advocacy toolkit developed by the NCD Alliance to support engagement in the 2026 HLM process. Advocating for integrated HIV, noncommunicable disease and mental health responses provides guidance on key political moments, advocacy strategies, and priorities to advance integrated, people-centred, and rights-based approaches.
Stay engaged
This page will be regularly updated with key milestones, draft documents, and opportunities for engagement as the process evolves.
Stakeholders are encouraged to actively participate in consultations, contribute to advocacy efforts, and collaborate to ensure an ambitious, inclusive, and accountable outcome.