Geneva: A new report released by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) on Tuesday warns that the global HIV response has suffered its most significant setback in decades, urging reliance on solidarity, resilience, investment, and innovation to achieve the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic.
According to Namibia Press Agency, the report, titled "Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response," highlights the severe impact of reduced international funding and a lack of global solidarity on HIV prevention efforts. Abrupt cuts to international HIV aid in 2025 have worsened existing funding gaps, with an estimate from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development indicating that external health assistance is expected to fall by 30-40 percent in 2025 compared with 2023. This reduction is anticipated to lead to immediate and increasingly severe disruptions to health services in low- and middle-income countries.
The report reveals that prevention services have been hit the hardest, with significant cuts in supplies of HIV prevention medicines and steep drops in voluntary medical male circumcision creating a growing protection gap for millions. HIV prevention programs targeting young women have been dismantled, leaving many adolescent girls and young women without prevention, mental health, or gender-based violence services, further increasing their vulnerability.
The report warned that failing to reach the 2030 global HIV targets outlined in the next Global AIDS Strategy could result in an additional 3.3 million new HIV infections between 2025 and 2030. Currently, 40.8 million people worldwide are living with HIV, with 1.3 million new infections occurring in 2024, and 9.2 million people still lacking access to treatment, according to UNAIDS.
Ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, UNAIDS urged global leaders to reaffirm their commitment to solidarity, multilateralism, and the shared effort to end AIDS, including maintaining funding for the HIV response, investing in innovation, upholding human rights, and empowering communities. "This is our moment to choose," said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS. "We can allow these shocks to undo decades of hard-won gains, or we can unite behind the shared vision of ending AIDS. Millions of lives depend on the choices we make today."