UNAIDS warns that due to massive cuts in international aid, the global response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic is on the verge of a serious setback. This is stated in a new report, “Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response,” released ahead of World AIDS Day 2025.
According to the report, international aid for HIV/AIDS has fallen by a shocking 30-40% this year compared to 2023, leading to widespread disruptions in prevention, diagnosis, and community support in low- and middle-income countries.
Prevention programs have been hit hardest: access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has declined sharply, and the number of voluntary male circumcisions — measures that previously helped curb the spread of infection — has decreased. For millions of people, especially young women and girls, this means losing access not only to HIV prevention, but also to related services: psychological support, assistance with gender-based violence, and medical care.
Communities and civil society organizations, which until recently had been driving the response to the epidemic, have also been hit hard. According to UNAIDS estimates, more than 60% of women’s civil society organizations have suspended their activities; resources for key populations—LGBT communities, sex workers, people who inject drugs, and transgender people—have been significantly reduced.
Against this backdrop, there is a growing threat of a rollback—delays in prevention and clinic closures could cause the epidemic to resurge: UNAIDS warns that if support and funding are not restored, there could be up to 3.3 million new HIV infections by 2030.
At the same time, the report also hints that efforts to contain the crisis are already underway. Some countries — notably Nigeria, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa, and Tanzania — have announced increases in their public investment in HIV services, and UNAIDS is working with more than 30 countries on sustainable financing plans. New prevention technologies—including long-acting injectables—are also being explored as a potential opportunity to halt the wave of new infections.
UNAIDS emphasizes that international leaders, donors, governments, and civil society organizations must not only restore funding, but also invest in innovation, protect people’s rights to health, support communities already working on the front lines, and recognize that only collective solidarity and humanity can secure the progress that has been achieved.
Today, 40.8 million people worldwide are living with HIV, 1.3 million new cases were reported last year, and about 9.2 million people are not receiving treatment. The decline in community support and prevention programs threatens to undermine decades of progress.
“This is our moment of choice,” urged Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). “We can allow these disruptions to undo decades of hard-won progress, or we can unite around a shared vision of overcoming AIDS. Millions of lives depend on the choices we make today.”
The UNAIDS report is available at: «Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response».
