Tonight, we bring you a story that is not just news — it’s a moment of history in the making. A powerful new article in Forbes, penned by Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund, issues a bold call to action. The headline reads: “The First Generation Without AIDS Is Within Reach If We Refuse to Settle.”
In it, Sands writes,
“This isn’t about managing the AIDS pandemic. It’s about ending it — and letting a new generation grow and thrive free of its threat.”
More than 40 million lives have been lost to AIDS so far, and 39 million people are still living with HIV. But with the arrival of groundbreaking tools like long-acting PrEP — including lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injectable — we now have the scientific means to cut new infections dramatically. Sands points to prevention as the Achilles’ heel in our global AIDS response.
He says, “No epidemic has ever been ended without stopping transmission.” On July 9th, the Global Fund struck a historic deal with Gilead, makers of lenacapavir, to expand affordable access across low- and middle-income countries. The goal? Reach 2 million people in the next three years, especially young women and marginalized communities. But science alone isn’t enough.
Sands warns that without action on stigma, discrimination, and criminalization, people will not realize the full potential of lenacapavir. As America’s LGBTQ community knows too well, real progress depends on dismantling structural barriers and letting communities lead. He reminds us that “Epidemics don’t end when we stop paying attention. They end when we confront hard realities, back what works, and refuse to settle for anything less than success.”
Advocates ask what we should do next. Their answer is that we rise and advocate then we support our local HIV organizations. They suggest we must demand access to the tools that can save lives. The LGBTQ community is closer than ever to ending the AIDS pandemic.
