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AVAC
Issue #1, Q2 2026

Dear Advocate,

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping global health, from disease surveillance to drug and diagnostic discovery and development to the delivery of information, products and services—bringing both new opportunities and new risks. In the HIV response ([link removed]) , AI is being applied across prevention, treatment and care, offering the potential to expand reach, strengthen efforts, and improve the response, but also creating various risks, which makes responsible, community-focused practice an imperative.

Together with partners, and guided by a distinguished editorial advisory group ([link removed]) , we are proud and excited to release our first AI & HIV Newsletter ([link removed]) ! This new quarterly resource will provide advocates and the global community with the information and resources to engage with AI in ways that strengthen equity, protect individuals and communities and prioritize their inclusion, and ensure that technological innovation advances the HIV response rather than undermines it. Within this first issue, we highlight the latest resources, tools, research, and policy developments at the intersection of AI and HIV.

Table of Contents
* Resources (#resources)
* AI Technology (#ai-technology)
* Policy Developments (#policy-developments)
* Research (#research)
* What We’re Reading (#what-were-reading)

Resources


** AI and HIV Programs: A Guide for Advocates
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AVAC and Audere ([link removed]) , a technology company developing AI tools to support HIV self-testing and linking clients to differentiated HIV prevention or treatment, have recently published AI and HIV Programs: A Guide for Advocates ([link removed]) . This guide is intended to help advocates understand how AI can strengthen information access, prevention, treatment, and trust across communities. It outlines both opportunities and risks, emphasizing the need for equity, community leadership, strong data protections, and responsible deployment. The guide offers concrete actions advocates can take now to shape ethical AI adoption, break down silos, and accelerate progress from fragmented pilots to scalable impact.
Read More ([link removed])


** AI 101 Training for Communities Webinar – Why Communities Need AI (Recording)
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ITPC ([link removed]) in partnership with Audere ([link removed]) hosted a webinar exploring the basics of AI and why communities must play a central role in shaping how AI is used in health and development. Participants discussed where AI can add value, where human judgment remains essential, and how AI is already influencing health systems, information access and decision-making. ITPC notes that communities shouldn’t just use AI. They should influence it. The difference between being shaped by AI and shaping it starts with understanding it. This webinar was a step in that direction.
Read More ([link removed])
AI Technology


** Lessons from South Africa’s Aimee Program
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Evidence from South Africa’s Aimee program ([link removed]) offers an early glimpse into how AI could support the next generation of HIV prevention and sexual health services. Developed by Audere Africa and Shout-It-Now, Aimee is a WhatsApp-based AI health companion that provides confidential, 24/7 guidance on HIV prevention, sexual health and mental wellbeing—meeting young people on a platform they already use widely.

Early engagement data from nearly 10,000 users show strong uptake, with many users seeking information on HIV testing, PrEP, contraception and relationships, and nearly half of those who interacted with Aimee proceeding to HIV self-testing. The findings suggest AI tools like Aimee could play an important role in helping people navigate prevention decisions, understand products like PrEP and connect to care earlier and more confidently. The publication is pending. The same Self-Care platform ([link removed]) also powers live programs and research studies across South Africa and Zimbabwe including: Coach Mpilo ([link removed]) led by PSI and WHC, Self-Cav from NDOH ([link removed]) available via Bwise and supported by Shout-It-Now, and VimbAI ([link removed]) led by CeSHHAR.

IN THE NEWS:
* How AI "Besties" in South Africa Are Changing Uptake of HIV Medication ([link removed]) —Think Global Health
* An AI Evaluation Framework for the Development Sector ([link removed]) —The Agency Fund

Policy Developments


** Ethical and Sustainable AI in HIV Prevention
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As global health systems face mounting pressure from funding cuts, economic instability and shifting geopolitical priorities, the authors argue that digital health interventions (DHIs) and AI tools must be embedded into national HIV and broader health strategies to improve efficiency, strengthen resilience and reduce inequities. They emphasize that sustainable digital tools should be affordable, interoperable, adaptable to low-resource settings and designed with the needs of users and frontline health workers at the center—including strong privacy protections, offline functionality and culturally responsive approaches. The paper also calls for governments, donors and partners to invest in infrastructure, workforce capacity and regulatory frameworks that can support ethical, scalable and sustainable use of AI in HIV prevention and care.
Read More ([link removed](25)00447-4/fulltext)


** The Future of Global Health: Embracing a minimum regulatory floor for AI Governance in Africa
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Fola Adeleke, the Executive Director of the Global Center on AI Governance, argues for stronger governance frameworks to ensure AI technologies advance equity as AI tools become increasingly embedded in HIV prevention and care. Adeleke highlights growing concerns around data privacy, consent, cross-border data use and algorithmic decision-making, while emphasizing that AI systems introduced into HIV programs must uphold long-standing principles of accountability, transparency and community leadership. Drawing on research from countries with the highest HIV burdens, he calls for a “minimum regulatory floor” for AI governance in Africa—one grounded in human rights, public trust and meaningful community participation.
Read More ([link removed])


** Credibility, Legitimacy and South Africa’s AI Policy Moment
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Last month, South Africa withdrew its draft national AI policy after the document was found to have fabricated references and citations, which raised concerns about oversight and responsible use of AI in policymaking. While credibility may be reduced for the future policy, some experts see the situation as a constructive warning about the need for stronger governance, verification and accountability mechanisms as countries rapidly develop AI strategies and integrate AI into public systems.
Read More ([link removed])


IN THE NEWS:
* Artificial intelligence for public health in Africa: moving beyond pilots to public value ([link removed](26)00016-7/fulltext) —The Lancet Regional Health

Research


** AI for HIV Cure
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amfAR launched the HIV Immune Atlas Study ([link removed]) , a $2 million initiative to leverage AI to help map the HIV reservoir. A collaboration between HIV researchers and AI experts will hopefully inform how HIV persists in the body despite effective treatment. The project will create the first comprehensive single-cell map of how HIV affects the immune system and establishes hidden viral reservoirs in tissues using sequencing technologies and machine learning. The goal is to integrate years of existing scientific data to uncover patterns that were previously unable to be detected and build computational models capable of predicting strategies to eliminate the HIV reservoir.
Read More ([link removed])


** AI for PrEP
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New research suggests many potential uses of AI to strengthen HIV prevention research, counseling and service delivery, from personalized pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) support to sexual health conversations that are free of stigma. A recent study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research ([link removed]) evaluated an AI-powered chatbot designed to use motivational interviewing techniques to support HIV prevention and PrEP uptake. Meanwhile, researchers in South Africa tested an AI conversational agent developed with communities and health providers ([link removed]) to support HIV prevention assessments in non-clinical settings. Participants reported that the tool created a more open, stigma-free environment to discuss sex, sexuality and HIV prevention.
Read More ([link removed])


IN THE NEWS:
* AI-augmented communication improves HIV PrEP initiation and persistence in populations disproportionately impacted by HIV ([link removed]) —npj Digital Medicine
* Self-Care from Anywhere: Evaluating the usability of an AI-powered HIV toolkit among adolescent girls and young women and healthcare providers in South Africa ([link removed]) —PrePrint
* Enhanced language models for predicting and understanding HIV care disengagement: a case study in Tanzania ([link removed]) —NPJ Digital Medicine
* Artificial intelligence for research capacity strengthening: Two reviews and a pathway to shift power in global health ([link removed]) —PLOS Digital Health

AI at AIDS 2026
[link removed]

AI will be a major focus at the upcoming International AIDS Conference (IAC 2026), with sessions exploring AI-powered HIV prevention, digital health tools, AI ethics, governance, misinformation and equity. Explore AVAC and Audere's roadmap of AI-related sessions.
Explore the Roadmap ([link removed])
WHAT WE'RE READING
* AI integration into HIV care ([link removed](26)00009-3/fulltext) —The Lancet HIV
* Artificial intelligence for public health in Africa: moving beyond pilots to public value ([link removed](26)00016-7/fulltext) —The Lancet
* Anthropic and the Government of Rwanda sign MOU for AI in health and education ([link removed]) —Anthropic
* AI tools that actually do something — beyond the hype and 'sales pitch' ([link removed]) —Devex
* Can a new effort scale ‘AI for good’ to reach hundreds of millions? ([link removed]) —Devex
* EMA and FDA set common principles for AI in medicine development ([link removed]) —EMA
* Health data governance is an enabler for AI ambitions ([link removed]) —Devex
* The AI push in health care is deepening medicine’s trust crisis ([link removed]) —STAT
* Towards responsible AI for mental health and well-being: experts chart a way forward ([link removed]) —World Health Organization
* RECORDING: Frameworks for Advancing and Governing Ethical AI in Global Health ([link removed]) —Harvard Global Health
* Fraudulent citations, blamed on AI hallucinations, are becoming more common in research papers ([link removed]) —STAT
* AI, Self-Care and the Future of HIV Service Delivery ([link removed]) —NDOH, Audere Africa, and Shout-It-Now
* Flaws in Kenya’s AI-driven health reforms driving up costs for the poorest ([link removed]) —The Guardian
* The Elton John AIDS Foundation reshapes strategy to ensure progress against HIV reaches the people who need it most ([link removed]) —Elton John AIDS Foundation
* As Defunded HIV Programs Thin, Uneven Resilience Emerges ([link removed]) —Think Global Health

All the best,

AVAC
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AVAC Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention
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