HIV Response Cannot Exist Without Justice for Trans People

GATE’s panel at AIDS 2026 delivered a clear message: without rights, sustainable funding, and community leadership, ending the HIV epidemic will remain out of reach.

By Liaam Winslet | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | #AIDSSociety #AIDS2026

Three continents, one shared reality. Alexandra Rodríguez Durán (Mexico), Manisha (Nepal), and Marcela Romero (Argentina) spoke about how shrinking rights, declining funding, and the rise of hate-driven rhetoric are undermining the HIV response in trans communities. Coordinated by GATE, the panel delivered a powerful reminder that there can be no health without justice.

As the world celebrates unprecedented scientific advances in HIV prevention and treatment, a far more complex reality continues to unfold beyond research laboratories and conference halls. Across many countries, trans-led organizations are shutting their doors, community programs are losing funding, and the rise of anti-gender movements is threatening decades of progress in human rights.

That was the central focus of “Trans Health, Rights and Funding Challenges,” one of the most compelling sessions held at the Global Village during AIDS 2026, organized by GATE (Global Action for Trans Equality). More than an academic discussion, the session became an urgent conversation about the future of the global HIV response and the indispensable role that trans communities play in achieving it.

A Conversation That Connected the World

By bringing together advocates and community leaders from Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, and other regions, GATE demonstrated that although national contexts differ, the challenges facing trans communities are remarkably similar.

Throughout the discussion, one message resonated across every intervention: the greatest barriers to ending HIV are no longer limited to access to medicine. They also include discrimination, fear, violence, the closure of community-led organizations, and public policies that exclude trans people.

The conclusion was unmistakable:

When community organizations disappear, much of the HIV response disappears with them.

Latin America: Progress Overshadowed by Deep Inequalities

Speakers from Latin America described a region increasingly shaped by authoritarianism, violence, racism, poverty, and forced migration conditions that continue to deepen the inequalities experienced by trans communities.

They warned that despite important policy gains in some countries, many trans people continue to face disproportionately high HIV-related mortality, widespread violence, and systemic social exclusion.

They also highlighted an often-overlooked structural issue: official data systems frequently fail to accurately record trans identities, making communities invisible and limiting governments’ ability to develop equitable policies and allocate adequate funding.

Nepal: Legal Recognition Alone Is Not Enough

One of the most powerful interventions came from Manisha, representing Nepal, who presented a country marked by both remarkable progress and profound contradictions.

Nepal has achieved historic legal and political recognition for trans people, including national political representation. Yet, she explained, those achievements have not protected communities from shrinking international funding and the growing influence of anti-gender narratives.

As a result, community-based programs have been forced to reduce or shut down services, limiting access to condoms, PrEP, HIV testing, and other essential resources.

Manisha also emphasized that trans health must be understood as comprehensive healthcare one that includes mental health, chronic disease management, harm reduction, and lifelong care, rather than focusing exclusively on HIV.

Alexandra Ruiz: Strengthening Those Who Sustain the Community Response

Representing Mexico, Alexandra Rodríguez Durán highlighted a reality shared across much of Latin America: trans-led organizations continue to provide services that many public health systems have been unable to deliver.

These organizations connect people to care, conduct HIV testing, provide prevention services, build trust, and create support networks within communities that have historically been marginalized.

Her intervention underscored that trans people should not simply be viewed as beneficiaries of health and social programs. They must be recognized as decision-makers, leaders, and partners deserving of long-term investment and sustainable funding.

Marcela Romero: Leadership Must Include Decision-Making Power

Argentine activist Marcela Romero, one of Latin America’s most influential voices in the trans movement, reinforced another central message of the session.

Trans people must be actively involved in designing public policies, shaping research agendas, and determining how funding is distributed.

Being counted in reports or statistics is not enough. Meaningful participation requires having a seat at the tables where priorities are set, budgets are approved, and policies are designed.

Her remarks also highlighted a persistent challenge: current funding remains inadequate and is too often managed by institutions where trans communities have little influence over decision-making.

Trans Health Is About More Than HIV

One of the session’s most significant contributions was expanding the conversation beyond HIV alone.

The speakers agreed that no HIV strategy can succeed if it ignores the broader realities shaping trans people’s lives.

Comprehensive health means access to gender-affirming healthcare, hormone therapy, mental health services, cancer screening, diabetes and hypertension care, vaccination, sexual and reproductive healthcare, housing, food security, transportation, and legal documentation.

Because someone experiencing poverty, homelessness, violence, or discrimination cannot realistically maintain consistent healthcare.

Health equity requires far more than access to medication.

Trans leaders from across the globe gathered at AIDS 2026 to deliver a simple but powerful message: communities should not only have a voice—they must have a seat at the table, leading the decisions that affect their lives, their health, and their human rights.

It requires the conditions necessary to live with dignity.

The Lasting Lesson from AIDS 2026

The discussion organized by GATE offered a message that extends far beyond this conference.

For decades, trans-led organizations have built community responses that have saved lives, expanded access to care, fostered trust where health systems often failed, and demonstrated that communities themselves are capable of leading effective public health solutions.

Today, however, many of those same organizations are struggling to survive as international funding declines and anti-rights movements gain momentum.

The panel’s conclusion was unequivocal:

The goal of ending HIV will remain unattainable if the global community continues to weaken the organizations that sustain the response on the ground.

Investing in trans-led organizations is not simply a funding decision. It is an investment in public health, human rights, and a more equitable future.

As this session at AIDS 2026 made unmistakably clear:

There can be no effective HIV response without justice, dignity, and leadership for trans people.