HIV Response Faces Critical Juncture
UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima has warned that progress in the global fight against HIV/AIDS is facing its most significant disruption since the epidemic’s onset. “This is undoubtedly the most serious disruption to the HIV response we have ever seen,” Byanyima stated.
The alarming rate of 3,000 adolescent girls and young women contracting HIV each week, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, highlights a failure to reach the world’s most vulnerable populations. Byanyima attributed this crisis to “funding cuts, shrinking civic space, and increased criminalization of marginalized populations, creating the perfect storm for the HIV response.” According to UNAIDS data, the virus continues to spread as people face barriers to accessing treatment.
Sharp Decline in Global Aid
Key findings from UNAIDS’ Global AIDS Update – United to End AIDS report include:
- Global development aid saw a record drop of 23% in 2025.
- HIV programs have been severely impacted, with testing programs in high-burden regions decreasing by 22% between 2024 and 2025.
- In some instances, funding for condoms has been cut by over 90%.
- Two additional countries implemented criminalization related to consensual same-sex sexual activity in 2025, and one country increased penalties in 2026.
- The use of PrEP, a daily medication to prevent HIV, experienced a sharp decline of 38% in 62 countries between 2024 and 2025.
Rights Eroding, Prevention and Care Services Dismantled
The report also indicates a dangerous rollback in rights for the first time since UNAIDS began tracking these trends, marked by increased criminalization of marginalized groups. These essential services are being dismantled at a time when the world needs to scale up HIV prevention efforts, especially with the advent of new, revolutionary long-acting prevention innovations. The report notes that prevention is already underfunded, accounting for only 11% of total HIV spending, and this limited investment is further diminished as domestic funding fails to bridge the gap.
Fragile Successes
The fight against HIV has been one of global health’s greatest success stories over the past 25 years:
- AIDS-related deaths fell by 56%, from 1.3 million in 2010 to 570,000 in 2025.
- New infections have decreased by 43% since 2010, falling to 1.2 million.
- Of the 40.9 million people living with HIV, 78% are on treatment.
However, this success is fragile. Nearly nine million people lack access to treatment. With dwindling external funding, treatment gains are also becoming increasingly precarious.
Uneven Progress Amid Funding Cuts
A recent study of 79 community-led organizations across 47 countries on three continents (Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Africa) revealed significant service reductions:
- Community support services for people living with HIV saw a 50% decrease.
- Services for sex workers were reduced by 82%.
- Services for men who have sex with men experienced cuts of 85%.
According to UNAIDS, when communities lose funding, the entire response loses reach, trust, and effectiveness. Uneven progress has also been reported, with infections rising in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Latin America.
Byanyima posed the critical question: “We know how to end AIDS. The question is now political: will we invest, or will we retreat?”
“We Can End AIDS by 2030”
At the upcoming United Nations High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS on June 22-23, countries are set to adopt a new political declaration aiming to end AIDS within the next five years. This declaration will incorporate new 2030 targets from the Global AIDS Strategy. Key goals include ensuring 40 million people have access to antiretroviral therapy by 2030, securing access to HIV prevention medicines for 20 million people, and ensuring all individuals receive services free from stigma and discrimination.
“If we follow the Global AIDS Strategy and UN Member States show the determination to adopt a strong political declaration guiding the next five-year response, we can end AIDS by 2030,” the UNAIDS chief stated. “But if we fail to act, we risk reversing decades of hard-won progress.”
