Can Africa host its way to inclusion?

When this year’s International AIDS Conference opened in Kigali, Rwanda, it was impossible to miss the difference: African scientists, activists, and students filled the halls — traveling by plane, bus, and sheer determination. The International AIDS Society told Devex that nearly 50% of the roughly 4,000 participants at IAS 2025 were from Africa, a stark contrast to IAS 2023 in Australia, where just 26% of the 5,335 attendees came from central, eastern, southern, or western Africa.

Despite decades of pledges around equity and inclusion, systemic barriers still block African voices from the very global health conversations that most affect their communities. For African researchers, civil society leaders, and early-career scientists, visas are expensive and denials are rampant. Even when invited to speak or present work, many are denied entry to conferences tackling the very challenges their communities face.

IAS 2025’s location was no accident. After the 2022 Montreal AIDS Conference sparked outrage when dozens of African delegates were denied Canadian visas, IAS was under pressure to act. Rwanda, with its political stability, growing scientific infrastructure, and visa-on-arrival policy for most African nations, offered a solution.