UNAIDS warns of major setbacks in global HIV response, calls for renewed solidarity

The global fight against HIV/AIDS has suffered its most significant setback in decades, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) warned on Tuesday, urging renewed global solidarity, investment and innovation to keep the goal of ending the epidemic within reach.

The warning comes in UNAIDS’ latest report, Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response, which highlights the impact of reduced international funding and a lack of coordinated global action on HIV prevention efforts.

According to the report, abrupt cuts to international HIV aid in 2025 could worsen existing funding gaps, with external health assistance projected to fall by 30–40 per cent compared with 2023, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Such reductions are expected to cause immediate and increasingly severe disruptions to health services in low- and middle-income countries.

Prevention programmes have been particularly affected. Shortages of HIV prevention medicines, declines in voluntary medical male circumcision, and dismantling of services targeting adolescent girls and young women have left millions more vulnerable. The report notes that many young women are now deprived of vital prevention, mental health, and gender-based violence support.

Failing to meet the 2030 global HIV targets could result in an estimated 3.3 million new infections between 2025 and 2030, the report cautioned. Currently, around 40.8 million people are living with HIV worldwide, with 1.3 million new infections reported in 2024. Some 9.2 million people still lack access to treatment.

Ahead of World AIDS Day on 1 December, UNAIDS called on global leaders to recommit to solidarity, multilateralism, and sustained funding for the HIV response. The agency also urged investment in innovative solutions, protection of human rights, and empowerment of affected communities.

“This is our moment to choose,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima. “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.”

With IANS Inputs