UNAIDS Warns Global HIV Response Is Faltering as Funding Cuts Raise Resurgence Risk
The global fight against HIV is at a critical point as funding cuts, unequal access to prevention and growing human rights challenges threaten to reverse decades of progress, UNAIDS has warned.
A special UNAIDS report released during the 26th International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro shows that 1.2 million people acquired HIV in 2025, while 570,000 died from AIDS-related illnesses.
Although both figures are at their lowest levels in more than 30 years, progress remains uneven. New infections increased in three regions and 21 countries during 2025. About nine million of the 41 million people living with HIV were not receiving treatment, while almost half of children living with HIV had no access to antiretroviral therapy.
UNAIDS cautioned that more than three million people could acquire HIV by 2030 unless governments urgently accelerate their response.
HIV funding falls sharply
International HIV financing declined by 18%, from US$8.8 billion in 2024 to US$7.3 billion in 2025—its lowest level in almost two decades.
The cuts are particularly concerning for sub-Saharan Africa, where international aid provides about 80% of HIV prevention funding. Some countries have experienced condom funding cuts exceeding 90%, while community-led prevention and support services have also been severely reduced.
UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima called for stronger domestic investment, debt restructuring and renewed global solidarity.
New prevention medicines bring hope
Scientific advances could transform HIV prevention. Monthly and twice-yearly injections offer long-lasting protection, while monthly prevention pills are undergoing advanced trials.
South Africa is negotiating pricing agreements for lenacapavir, a twice-yearly HIV prevention injection. However, UNAIDS said access to new medicines must be affordable and expanded rapidly.
There are encouraging signs: Benin, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Nepal, Rwanda and Zimbabwe have reduced new infections by almost 80% since 2010.
The UN’s new 2030 targets include placing 40 million people on treatment and giving 20 million access to antiretroviral-based prevention. Achieving these commitments could prevent 3.2 million new infections and 1.3 million AIDS-related deaths by 2030.
