December 2, 2025
A new, groundbreaking six-paper series from The Lancet HIV and The Lancet Global Health journals, co-authored by more than two dozen African and global experts, outlines a roadmap for sustainable, nationally led HIV prevention across the continent.
December 3, 2025 — At the 2025 International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA), Malawi’s National AIDS Commission (Malawi NAC), the African-led HIV Control Working Group (HCWG), and Georgetown University’s Center for Innovation in Global Health will announce the launch of the landmark The Lancet HIV & The Lancet Global Health Joint Series on Sustainable HIV Prevention in Africa, calling for a decisive transformation in how HIV prevention is financed, integrated, and sustained across the continent.
“This series, emerging from a rich set of convenings over the last year, in Lilongwe, Kigali, and now Accra, provides critical insights on HIV prevention from government leaders, local and global experts,” said series author Professor Kenneth Ngure, Immediate Former Dean of the School of Public Health of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Kenya and the President-Elect of the International AIDS Society. “It moves beyond the ‘what’ to the how—that is, how can health systems be optimized to support the critical functions of HIV prevention that will accelerate an end to HIV by 2030.”
“In this era of disrupted donor support for health programs, we are witnessing growing national ownership of health systems, from the introduction of social health insurance to expansions of the health workforce and digital transformation,” said series author Dr. Charles B. Holmes, Georgetown University’s Center for Innovation in Global Health Director and former PEPFAR Chief Medical Officer and Deputy U.S. global AIDS coordinator. “It is more important than ever to reflect—as we do in these papers—on the ways in which governments and communities can work together to make health systems more responsive and able to reach those most marginalized and in greatest need. Countries that are able to do this will be able to make the greatest strides in their HIV response and make the best use of emerging prevention tools such as long-acting medicines.”
Despite remarkable gains in the HIV response, Sub-Saharan Africa still accounted for 59-60% of new HIV infections in 2024, underscoring persistent prevention gaps. As more HIV programs face disruption due to funding uncertainty, more than two dozen experts from across Africa and the globe come together in The Lancet HIV & The Lancet Global Health Joint Series on Sustainable HIV Prevention in Africa to outline practical, evidence-based strategies for strengthening health systems’ capacity for sustainable HIV prevention while advancing broader health system goals. The series explores themes such as systemic integration of HIV prevention into public health systems; systematic community engagement; nationally led new product introduction; and leveraging digital health and artificial intelligence to expand reach and improve program efficiency.
“The Africa-led HIV Control Working Group consists of leaders from across the continent who are committed to ensuring scalable and sustainable best practices that have emerged are shared in the region and beyond,” said series author Dr. Mumbi Chola, The African-led HIV Control Working Group and Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia Strategic Information and Research Technical Lead. “This collaboration has enriched the evidence base from which we operate and will help us to support governments as they work to achieve their goals around ending the HIV epidemic. “
“As good as our new HIV prevention medicines are—and they are very good—there are very real challenges in consistently and sustainably reaching otherwise healthy people during their periods of risk,” added series author Dr. Beatrice Matanje, Malawi NAC CEO. “This is especially the case in the current environment in which funding is unpredictable and tailored models of reaching specific populations are under threat. These papers, written along with many of my expert peers from governments in the region, provide proven approaches to achieving more coherent, effective, and sustainable HIV programs in these challenging times.”
Published in The Lancet HIV and The Lancet Global Health, the six-paper series explores the reforms needed to build enduring HIV prevention systems that move beyond fragmented approaches to evidence-based strategies that are driven by African leadership and supported by global partnerships.
- Paper 1 affirms that global HIV prevention is not on track, particularly in African countries, and outlines a health-systems approach for ensuring sustainable progress in the HIV response within the region.
- Paper 2 examines the systemic integration of HIV prevention into public health systems, emphasizing leadership, financing, and governance reforms.
- Paper 3 explores the role of digital health and artificial intelligence in improving reach and efficiency, urging investment in infrastructure, workforce, and data protection.
- Paper 4 demonstrates that community engagement and leadership are central to sustainable prevention, improving accountability, trust, and service uptake.
- Paper 5 focuses on nationally led product introduction, calling for stronger supply chains, trained workforces, and unified health data systems to ensure equitable access and improve service delivery.
- Paper 6, the call to action, urges a shift toward nationally led, resilient systems, supported by diversified domestic financing and integrated approaches to secure lasting prevention gains.
Dr. Yogan Pillay, Gates Foundation Director of HIV and TB Delivery, added, “We are at a turning point in HIV prevention. With science advancing in the face of shrinking resources, strong, nationally-led systems capable of delivering innovation at scale and with equity will be critical to a re-imagined, sustainable HIV response. This series underscores that, despite challenges, African countries are leading the way. Global partners need to match that commitment by sustaining the science and investing in the community delivery systems that make impact not only possible, but a reality.”
The authors emphasize that sustainability must be driven by African leadership, supported by global partnership, and rooted in resilient systems capable of withstanding fiscal and geopolitical shocks.
Read the new The Lancet HIV & The Lancet Global Health joint Series on Sustainable HIV Prevention in Africa here.
The official launch of The Lancet HIV and The Lancet Global Health joint Series on Sustainable HIV Prevention in Africa will take place during ICASA’s Opening Session on December 4, 2025, from 10:50 – 11:35 a.m. GMT at the Accra International Conference Center in Accra, Ghana.
Register for the session here.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Heena Patel, O’Neill Institute Director of Strategic Communications