Hello lovely people, earlier this week I was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at AIDS 2026 for less than a week but honestly it felt much longer. From the pre-conference to my final moments, I showed up as HIV Stigmafighter and Eric the Dragking. Rio embraced both sides of my activism.
The Conference
AIDS conferences are always overflowing with sessions, many happening at the same time. I have to pick and choose and hope to land where my voice matters most.
So, I attended some sessions on HIV prevention and access to long acting PrEP. It was painful to hear that after developing injectable PrEP, access is still blocked by bureaucracy and inequality. The shock was real when I learned that Brazil is excluded from generic PrEP enrolment. At a conference hosted in Brazil! This decision fueled anger and protests. It reminded me that policy decisions are still made far away from people who need the medication most.
I joined two sessions focused on women living with HIV. For once, the spotlight was on success and progress. It was powerful to see women celebrated for leadership and resilience. When treatment works, we rise and we bring our communities with us.
In EATG’s Silver Zone, my sisters from The Well Project talked about HIV and menopause. This topic is often avoided by healthcare providers. Women shared experiences that echoed mine. It was healing and necessary. It was also rewarding to finally meet familiar faces I only knew from online meetings. This is what AIDS 2026 is about, connecting with the global HIV community.
The good thing about the location is that I was able to meet activists from Brazil, Haiti, Puerto Rico and many other places we usually do not see at events in for example Europe. In the Global Village, we talked about stigma, access, and equity. I saw the same struggles repeated across borders. Stigma, criminalisation and a lack to equitable health services. So tell me, how are we supposed to end HIV and AIDS in a world that criminalises sex workers, same sex relationships and LGBTQIA+ lives?
There were also again beautiful art expositions throughout the conference space. You know what I say about art. It can carry messages where words failed. I admired paintings, handmade pieces, installations, and shows. The message was clear. Love us. Support us. Empower us.
So many stories and artistic messages from our community! Everyone who shared a story from their local HIV communities received a HIV Stigmafighter pin and wore it with pride. Look at these pictures to get a feel of AIDS2026.
Eric the Dragking at the global village
Opening the Global Village ceremony as Eric the Dragking was unforgettable. I have attended AIDS conferences since 2018, and this was the first time a drag king performed on that stage. So, Eric the Dragking did their best to dance HIV stigma away on the stage. We felt proud. We felt seen.
Eric collaborated with a Brazilian artivist and Hero of Hope Adriana Bertina. She crafted a massive beautiful red ribbon made of condoms, HIV test kits and PrEP medication especially for Eric. Revealing it on stage was such an honour. This was a true fusion of art, activism and global HIV community power.
Eric also co-hosted Café Cazuza, an affiliated event to AIDS 2026, where global artivists from places as far as India, Uganda, Burundi and Brazil came together to discuss what truly matters and celebrate our global HIV community. Eric helped to craft messages demanding Cure Now, PrEP access for Black women in Brazil and equity for all. Eric also gave a performance for the audience. The event was beautiful and a good reminder of the power of dragtivism.
Look at these wonderful pictures. People at AIDS 2026 loved Eric. We will be back in two years!
If RISE is about a funding crisis, what was there before?
Now onto a serious topic… RISE was presented as a way to overcome the global funding crisis through community leadership and scientific innovation.
But while listening, watching and feeling the grassroots energy, I kept thinking: We have always been the ones rising, we have always been the innovators, we have always been the leaders.
And we have always done this with limited financing and constant precarity, while establishment actors continue to receive the bulk of the funding. So when RISE talks about overcoming the funding crisis, I cannot help but ask: What crisis, and whose crisis is it? Because grassroots actors hardly access this funding in the first place.
If the money has been flowing mostly to establishment organisations while grassroots groups remain unseen, and if we are still expected to deliver impact without investment, then what exactly has changed for us? I am not cynical, I am just being clear. And clarity is the beginning of accountability.
In the end, Rio reminded me that ultimately the HIV response is powered by people from the many local HIV communities who refuse to disappear. AIDS 2026 is a celebration of our globally connected HIV community. It is a moment where we rise with unity and pride to ensure no one is left behind.
Peace,
Eric & Eliane
HIV stigmafighter 