New report finds high PrEP awareness but low access
Grindr for Equality pledged on 27th July 2026 to connect 10 million LGBTQ+ people to HIV prevention by 2028 at the 2026 International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro.
The commitment relies on Closing the Gap, a new Grindr for Equality report based on survey data from Grindr users in 10 countries.
Across those 10 countries, the report found a clear pattern: people know about PrEP, but many are not taking it because access is low.
Meanwhile, global HIV funding is shrinking at the same time health groups want faster progress toward ending HIV by 2030.
15 million users across 190 countries
Grindr has 15 million monthly users across 190 countries. That reach can help it connect communities that public health systems often miss.
George Arison, Grindr’s CEO and chairman, said: “Connecting people is what Grindr does at a scale and in communities that traditional public health systems don’t effectively reach.”
Every user will now get a direct in-app path to information about local HIV prevention services and referrals to nearby providers.
Those referrals will cover testing, PrEP, doxyPEP and other prevention tools where they are clinically appropriate and available. Local nonprofits, clinics and community organisations in each country will power the service.
As a result, people looking for sexual health support can start inside an app they already use. Grindr said many of its markets already treat the app as a primary source of sexual health information.
1,200 campaigns in 71 countries
Grindr for Equality has spent a decade building the network behind the new target. In 2025 alone, it ran more than 1,200 in-app campaigns with 185 community organisations in 71 countries and 40 languages.
Since 2022, the group has distributed more than 600,000 HIV self-tests through the app. That work forms the base for the 2028 pledge.
Arison said: “The global HIV response is losing critical funding at the exact moment we should be accelerating to end HIV by 2030. Grindr has the reach and the responsibility to help close that access gap — and we are proud to step up.”
amfAR and IAS back pledge
Endorsers include amfAR, the International AIDS Society, (RED), AVAC, Funders Concerned About AIDS, Harm Reduction International, HIV Justice Network, Council for Global Equality, Global Equality Caucus and ViiV Healthcare.
Other supporters include Health Access Bridge, Building Healthy Online Communities, U.S. Business Action to End HIV, Centre for Black Equity and All Out.
Regional and local groups on the list include Lighthouse Social Enterprise in Vietnam, Red Somos / Centro Medico Comunitario Red Somos, Sustained Health Initiatives of the Philippines, Anova Health Institute / Triangle Project in South Africa, CenterLink, Apicha Community Health Centre, Wanda Alston Foundation, Savannah Pride Centre, Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Centre, Baltimore Safe Haven, Arkansas Black Gay Men’s Forum, OutVote, Union=Fuerza Latinx Institute, The Social Impact Centre, Under the Umbrella RGV and PROMO Missouri.
