The global fight against HIV is on the brink of disaster. The United Nations Joint Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has announced a massive reduction in its staff, by more than 50%, in response to a sharp drop in funding from major donors, including the US, Europe, and Asia. The decision could have irreversible consequences in the global fight against an epidemic that could kill more than six million people in four years.
UNAIDS warns, “The global response to HIV is undergoing a major shock and many of the gains of the past decades are at risk.” The organization plans to reduce the number of staff from 600 to 280-300 and move the remaining jobs to lower-cost regions such as Bonn, Germany; Nairobi, Kenya; and Johannesburg, South Africa, the country with the highest number of reported AIDS cases in the world.
These measures resulted from political decisions, most notably by the United States. Under the Donald Trump administration, international funding for global health programs has been significantly cut. The US, which accounted for more than 40% of UNAIDS’ 2023 budget (approximately $214 million), has suspended or drastically reduced support for the agency.
UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima had already stated in February: if funding is not restored, the number of new HIV cases could increase more than sixfold by 2029. There is also a risk of more resistant strains of the virus emerging. Byanyima, however, recognized that aid approaches need to be rethought: “This is a chance to rethink and build more effective ways of delivering life-saving support.”
The scale of the crisis goes beyond UNAIDS. The World Food Program (WFP), UNICEF, and other UN agencies have also announced massive staff and program cuts. The losses caused by the U.S. withdrawal from its position as the world’s largest donor are already affecting millions of people around the world.
Established in 1996, UNAIDS was a response to gaps in global HIV policy that even the World Health Organization had failed to close. Now, UNAIDS itself faces a threat to its own survival.
The world faces a choice: continue the fight to eradicate HIV or let decades of progress come to naught. VirusOFF reminds you that there is little time to think.