WHO is participating at the STI & HIV 2025 World Congress taking place in Montreal, Canada, on 26–30 July 2025. This congress is a joint meeting of the 26th Meeting of the International Society of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Research (ISSTDR) and the 26th International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections (IUSTI) World Congress.
WHO will have the opportunity to present its latest epidemiological, scientific, and normative work related to STIs. WHO will play a key role in several sessions at the conference. Highlights include:
| Achieving health equity in STI care – Considerations of the impact of self-care Sunday, 27 July 2025, 13:00–14:00 (EST) |
WHO Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research is presenting on the global normative guidance on self-care for sexual and reproductive health and rights, including the rapid uptake at national level of evidence-based interventions to improving screening for STIs for underserved communities.
More information: WHO guideline on self-care interventions for health and well-being | Implementation guidance
| WHO research priorities for STIs: Advancing the global agenda for syphilis research Monday, 28 July 2025, 10:00–11:30 (EST) |
This session will highlight the WHO global research priorities for STIs and present a global mapping exercise of syphilis-related research activities, which will identify the most important remaining research needs for syphilis within the global agenda.
The session will then explore how to address gaps in product-related, clinical, and implementation research for syphilis in global settings. It will foster discussion on the solution strategies for designing, funding, and implementing the most critically needed research to bring about actionable change for syphilis policies and programmes.
Download session background and agenda (PDF, 105 kB)
| Looking forward in sexual health Tuesday, 29 July 2025, 08:30–09:30 (EST) |
Plenary session.
This plenary will present WHO’s work on identity and wellbeing in relation to sexuality, as part of a session looking at emerging areas in sexual health and their relevance to HIV/STIs.
| Towards the implementation of STI point-of-care tests in low- and middle-income countries Tuesday, 29 July 2025, 10:00–11:30 (EST) |
This session is jointly organized by WHO and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
This session will present WHO’s normative guidance and the call for applications for pre-qualification for diagnostic tests for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and trichomonas. The session will explore how countries can advance to implementation of these tests in their programmes. Key stakeholders will share successes and discuss how existing data gaps and implementation barriers can be overcome. Ultimately, the session will provide a comprehensive overview to the current status and formulate future approaches to successful implementation of affordable diagnostic tests to strengthen the global STI response.
Download session background and agenda (PDF, 100 kB)
| Scaling up STI responses: New WHO guidelines and gonorrhoea AMR surveillance in focus Wednesday, 30 July 2025, 07:30–08:30 (EST) |
This session will present key STI-related updates from WHO, with a focus on advancing STIs services in vulnerable and resource-limited settings. It will cover the launch of 2 major guidelines: Management of asymptomatic STIs and Delivery of health services for STI prevention and care. These guidelines introduce actionable clinical and programmatic recommendations with global applicability.
In addition, the session will spotlight progress from WHO’s Enhanced Gonococcal Antimicrobial Surveillance Programme (EGASP), including the real-world and upcoming 2025 rollout country experiences from Malawi and Brazil, respectively.
Download session background and agenda (PDF, 75 kB)