May 28, 2026
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, 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, we are proud and excited to release our first AI & HIV Newsletter! 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.
AVAC and Audere, 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. 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.
ITPC in partnership with Audere 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.
Evidence from South Africa’s Aimee program 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 also powers live programs and research studies across South Africa and Zimbabwe including: Coach Mpilo led by PSI and WHC, Self-Cav from NDOH available via Bwise and supported by Shout-It-Now, and VimbAI led by CeSHHAR.
IN THE NEWS:
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.
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.
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.
IN THE NEWS:
amfAR launched the HIV Immune Atlas Study, 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.
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 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 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.
IN THE NEWS:
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’s roadmap of AI-related sessions.
Get updates on new resources, events and news on HIV prevention & global health equity.
AVAC is an international non-profit organization that leverages its independent voice and global partnerships to accelerate ethical development and equitable delivery of effective HIV prevention options, as part of a comprehensive and integrated pathway to global health equity. Find more at www.prepwatch.org and www.stiwatch.org.
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