Bali bars get latex love

AHF Leads with Client-Centered Solutions at International AIDS Society Conference

AHF Europe's Tamara Prinsenberg speaks during the fireside chat “The Retention Riddle: Tackling the Toughest Barrier to Ending HIV” with (from right) AHF's Dr. Mona-Gekanju Toeque, Dr. Lambert Rangira, and Brian Shepherd. Click above to watch the session.

At the International AIDS Society Conference (IAS) 2025 in Kigali, Rwanda, AHF made one thing clear: The fight against HIV is far from over. Through fireside chats, abstract presentations, and high-level panel sessions, AHF highlighted innovative, client-centered solutions advancing HIV and STI care across 49 countries.

AHF shares educational materials and distributes more than 2,000 free condoms with IAS attendees.

At AHF’s booth, two fireside chats highlighted strategies to keep clients engaged in care and showcased AHF’s prevention-first, replicable model for no cost, stigma-free STI services globally through our Wellness Centers. AHF leaders from the U.S., Rwanda, the Netherlands, Brazil, and Thailand shared strategies from their experiences that are making an impact on the ground, such as community condom promotion, partner testing, rapid treatment initiation, and increased retention efforts.

Dr. Iutung (far left) emphasizes the significance of South-to-South collaboration in the satellite session.

AHF Africa Bureau Chief Dr. Penninah Iutung joined the high-level satellite session “Leading the Way: Rwanda’s Groundbreaking Achievements in Reaching UNAIDS Global HIV Targets Ahead of Time,” where Rwanda’s success story illustrated the power of political will, inclusive policies, and community-led action in transforming public health.

AHF experts presented over a dozen abstract posters at IAS 2025, highlighting our global work to improve HIV prevention and care. The studies included innovative client re-engagement strategies, mobile treatment delivery, mental health integration, gender-sensitive programming, and AI-supported PrEP services.

During the conference, AHF representatives also met with Rwanda's Minister of Health, Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana. The discussion focused on strengthening AHF’s nearly 20-year partnership with the Ministry of Health in delivering comprehensive HIV/AIDS care and addressed site expansion, service integration, the cervical cancer response, and ongoing support for health system strengthening.

Global AHF representatives meet with Rwanda's Minister of Health, Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana (right, beneath artwork).

AHF @ IAS2025 – AHF Wellness Centers: Groundbreaking Solutions for a Growing STI Crisis

From left: AHF's Dr. Fernanda Fernandes Fonseca, Dr. Carl Millner, Dr. Salome Tuyisenge, and Kritsiam Arayawongchai during the fireside chat “AHF Wellness Centers: Groundbreaking Solutions for a Growing STI Crisis.” Click above to watch the session.

AHF Unlocks Condom Access in Bali’s Nightlife

A free condom dispenser at Mixwell Bar Bali gives guests easy access to protection, reinforcing the commitment to safer sex and HIV prevention.

In Badung District, Bali Province—a hotspot of tourism and nightlife—AHF and partners YKP and Gaya Dewata Foundation secured a crucial government green light to install condom dispensers in two popular gay bars and female sex worker hotspots, overcoming previous restrictions that limited condom distribution to government health workers.

AHF Indonesia and Mixwell management discuss plans for condom dispenser installation.

This policy win followed months of persistent advocacy, community engagement, and direct collaboration with local leaders, bar owners, and the AIDS Commission. The first two dispensers were installed at Mixwell and Balijoe—bars serving the gay community—and backed by positive media coverage from 10 local outlets.

"We welcome this initiative, especially since it comes with official backing," said Adi, Mixwell's manager. "It helps us serve our community better."

The initiative improves condom access, promotes safer sex, and helps curb HIV/STI rates in one of Indonesia’s highest-risk areas. AHF plans to expand the program to more venues, secure broader policy changes across Bali, and ensure trained outreach workers are authorized to distribute condoms freely—protecting the health and rights of vulnerable communities.

Increased media coverage of the campaign is helping reduce stigma around condoms and promoting safer sex.

"Condoms remain the most cost-effective and proven tool for preventing HIV and other STIs, while also helping to reduce unintended pregnancies, said Dr. Chhim Sarath, AHF Asia Bureau Chief. "In strong partnership with the government of Indonesia and community stakeholders, accelerating condom promotion is essential to achieving the country’s HIV and STI control targets."

Serving Indonesia since 2016, AHF provides free HIV testing, treatment, and prevention—reaching nearly 25,000 clients.

Vu Thi Gai: The Light of My Life

VIETNAM

Vu Thi Gai is a Peer Educator with AHF Vietnam. Her story is next in our "I Am AHF" series featuring remarkable staff, clients, and partners who are doing what's right to save lives every day.

As a peer educator with AHF Vietnam, Gai helps newly diagnosed clients transition into care.

My name is Vu Thi Gai, and I am 53 years old. I am an ordinary woman, born and raised in a small fishing village in Thủy Nguyên District, Hải Phòng City. I once had a simple, loving home: My husband was a seafarer, I ran a small tailoring and grocery shop, and we had two well-behaved children. Life back then wasn’t wealthy, but it was peaceful and full of love.

When tragedy struck without warning

In 2004, a great storm swept away all that peace. After a long voyage, my husband came back home and tested positive for HIV. Shortly after, I received the same result. My whole world collapsed. We lived in fear, panic, and despair.

I had never imagined I would become a target of stigma. But then came the wary looks from neighbors and the distance from people who once cared for us. My shop was deserted. We were pushed into isolation in the very community we called home. Only a month later, my husband passed away, leaving me alone with two young children and a grief that hadn’t even begun to heal.

"To me, AHF is more than just an organization – they are a friend, a lifeline, and the light that reignited my life when I was at my darkest moment," said Gai (left).

Civil Society Campaign Exposes Lenacapavir’s Price Tag — 14x the Cost of Gold

Visual from AHF’s “Lenacapavir: More expensive than gold” campaign, distributed in Latin America.

AHF and partners are challenging Gilead Sciences over the $40,000 annual price tag for its long-acting HIV prevention injection Lenacapavir—which costs 14 times more than the price of gold—and the exclusion of most of Latin America from its voluntary licensing program for affordable generics.

Uniting with Public Citizen, Corresponsales Clave, and Medicines for the People, AHF mobilized over 400 participants through regional webinars and coordinated a civil society declaration signed by more than 170 organizations. This declaration calls on Gilead and governments across Latin America to guarantee fair and equitable access to Lenacapavir for all populations.

The campaign’s visibility in Latin America and Europe recently prompted direct outreach from Gilead to discuss these demands. AHF is now expanding efforts to other regions to ensure that income or geography do not limit access to HIV prevention and treatment worldwide.

AHF and partners meet with Gilead Sciences to discuss equitable access to Lenacapavir.

"Once again, Latin America and the Caribbean have been pushed to the margins of progress,” said Dr. Patricia Campos, AHF Bureau Chief for Latin America and the Caribbean. “While we applaud efforts to expand access elsewhere, our region is left to fend for itself—facing rising HIV rates, shrinking foreign aid, and now the added burden of opaque pricing negotiations with a pharmaceutical giant that prioritizes patents over people.”

AHF has long challenged Big Pharma’s exorbitant prices and monopolistic practices to ensure equitable access to treatment, as seen in our Greedy Gilead campaign. To learn more about how pharmaceutical giants keep life-saving medicines out of reach, watch AHF’s feature-length documentary "DRUG$: The Price We Pay."

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