US activist Peter Staley opens CROI: we must all be activists until the next US administration

27 February 2026. Related: Early access, Conference reports, Activism & advocacy, CROI 33 (Retrovirus) 2026.

Simon Collins, HIV i-Base

In giving the annual Martin Delaney presentation at the opening ceremony of CROI 2026, US activist Peter Staley spoke about responses to the ongoing devastation caused by the Trump administration since January last year.

Using examples from the history of activist responses to HIV – that were likely news to many in the audience – his talk focussed on strategies to limit the destruction for when the political pendulum swings back and a new US administration is elected.

“We all knew Trump’s second term would be worse than his first, but few of us were prepared for the level of destruction, and the speed of it, that started immediately after his inauguration.”

“The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, tweeted, ‘USAID is a criminal organisation – time for it to die.’ Its already small budget, just $10 billion a year, was eviscerated. It’s worth noting that Musk’s wealth grew last year by $300 billion.”

“It filled me with rage. How could rich and/or powerful men – Musk, Rubio, Trump – intentionally cause this?”

His talked received a standing ovation.

The speech is the only talk from CROI that has been made immediately available and it can now be watched online.

Peter has also made the transcription of his talk available. (PDF).

Reference

Peter Staley. “Annus Horribilis” and The War on Science: Thoughts on Resisting and Rebuilding. CROI 2026, Denver. 22–25 February 2026. Martin Delaney presentation.
https://www.croiconference.org/now-available-on-youtube-peter-staleys-martin-delaney-presentation