We received 6,424 applications for scholarships to attend AIDS 2026 and we awarded 729 scholarships, mainly to first-time recipients. Of those awarded, 675 attended in person and 46 virtually.
The AIDS 2026 Scholarship Programme helped ensure that the conference reflected the diversity of the global HIV response and included the voices, expertise and lived experiences that are essential to advancing it.
- 34% of scholarship recipients were people living with HIV.
- 68% identified as members of key populations.
- 80% were based in low‑ and middle-income countries.
- Scholarship recipients came from 95 countries.
- 39% were from Africa and 23% from Latin America and the Caribbean.
- 48% identified as women, 43% as men, 7% as gender non-conforming or non-binary, and 1% preferred not to say.
- 40% were aged 26-35, 28% were 36-45, 16% were 46-55, 7% were 18-25, and 9% were 56 or older.
- 31% were healthcare workers or social service providers, 18% were activists or advocates, 13% were researchers, and 8% were students.
- 56% are abstract presenters, workshop facilitators and Global Village organizers, whose work was selected for inclusion in the conference.
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Types of financial support
The IAS has awarded both in-person and virtual scholarships for AIDS 2026. Applicants could select their attendance type in their application, as well as the types of financial support they require to participate. Note that given the high demand, we were not able to grant full scholarships to all selected candidates.
Support for in-person attendance includes:
- In-person plus virtual registration, including:
- In-person access to all conference sessions, satellite sessions, poster discussion sessions, the exhibition, the Global Village and pre-conferences
- Online access to all conference sessions, satellite sessions and pre-conferences streamed live on the platform, session recordings and on-demand content, the e-posters and the virtual Global Village
- Travel support (pre-paid economy class return ticket from the nearest international airport in your country of residence) for the dates of the conference
- Accommodation (room in a budget hotel) for the duration of the conference
- Daily living allowance for each day of the conference
Support for virtual attendance includes:
- Online access to all conference sessions, satellite sessions and pre-conferences streamed live on the platform, session recordings and on-demand content, the e-posters and the virtual Global Village
All scholarship recipients will also receive free IAS membership for two years after the conference.
We also offered scholarships to a limited number of media representatives. Learn more.
IAS 2027, the 14th IAS Conference on HIV Science, will also feature a scholarship programme. We will share information on scholarships for these conferences closer to the opening date for applications: 17 November 2026.