[AIDS 2026] [Press statement] Health GAP: Activists disrupt US Global AIDS Coordinator Jeff Graham at International AIDS Conference

Health GAP press statement

New data show Trump and Rubio responsible for severe deterioration in program outcomes, including HIV treatment cut for 77,163 children, 42% reduction in PrEP enrollment, closure of 1700 PEPFAR HIV treatment sites, and more  

(Rio de Janeiro, July 26, 2026) Activists from directly impacted countries today disrupted Senior State Department Official Jeff Graham, the acting US Global AIDS Coordinator responsible for PEPFAR and the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy (GHSD). Graham is the head of the US government delegation to the 26th International AIDS Conference, the largest scientific conference on HIV in the world, opening today in Rio de Janeiro amidst turmoil caused by the Trump Administration’s unprecedented attacks on HIV funding, science, and the human rights of people most affected by HIV. Graham was speaking during a session organized by the US government at the AIDS Conference.

“The US government must be held accountable for the ongoing, global public health emergency they are causing,” said Anele Yawa of South Africa’s Treatment Action Campaign. “No matter what the US says in conference halls, we must believe the people served by PEPFAR, believe the data, and demand the US reverse course.”

“Erasing decades of progress and accountability to people with HIV and key populations is an outrage, and we must not allow it to continue on our watch,” said Asia Russell of Health GAP.

Read the full press statement here.