UNAIDS Warns of Global HIV Funding Crisis, Urges Urgent Action and Unity

The report lays bare the far-reaching consequences of sudden international funding cuts, including halted treatment services, defunded prevention programmes, and widespread health system disruptions.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has sounded the alarm over a deepening global funding crisis that threatens to derail decades of hard-won progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Releasing its 2025 Global AIDS Update report titled “AIDS, Crisis and the Power to Transform”, UNAIDS highlighted both the severity of the situation and the resilience of nations and communities striving to keep the response alive.

The report lays bare the far-reaching consequences of sudden international funding cuts, including halted treatment services, defunded prevention programmes, and widespread health system disruptions. It urges governments, global institutions, and donors to act urgently and decisively to avert a humanitarian catastrophe and reinvigorate the fight to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

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A Crisis Unfolds: The Impact of Sudden Aid Cuts

While the year 2024 brought measurable progress in HIV service delivery, a sharp and unexpected decline in international donor support in 2025 has disrupted the fragile infrastructure sustaining millions of lives. UNAIDS reports that health services have vanished overnight, with health workers laid off and vulnerable populations pushed out of care.

In Mozambique, over 30,000 frontline health personnel have been impacted. In Nigeria, the number of people starting Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) has dropped from 40,000 to just 6,000 per month—a dramatic reversal that underscores the gravity of the crisis.

“This is not just a funding gap—it’s a ticking time bomb,” said Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director. “People, especially children and key populations, are being pushed out of care. Services are collapsing.”

If essential U.S.-funded HIV services—chiefly through PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief)—collapse entirely, UNAIDS estimates a staggering toll between 2025 and 2029:

• 6 million new HIV infections

• 4 million additional AIDS-related deaths

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Alarming Data: Lives on the Line

Even before the widespread disruptions of 2025, 9.2 million people were not accessing life-saving treatment in 2024. Among them, 620,000 children aged 0–14 were living with HIV but not receiving care, contributing to 75,000 AIDS-related child deaths that year alone.

Other key statistics from 2024 include:

• 630,000 AIDS-related deaths globally, with 61% in sub-Saharan Africa

• 210,000 new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women (15–24), averaging 570 new infections per day

• Over 60% of women-led HIV organisations lost funding or suspended services in early 2025

• Disruption of PEPFAR-supported prevention services that previously reached 2.3 million adolescent girls and young women, and enabled 2.5 million people to access PrEP

Community-led and grassroots organisations—which are often best equipped to reach marginalised populations—are being disproportionately affected.

Adding to the crisis is a rising wave of punitive laws criminalising same-sex relationships, gender identity, and drug use, further alienating those most in need of HIV services.

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A Glimmer of Hope: Domestic Commitments and Innovation

Despite the bleak outlook, UNAIDS pointed to several positive developments. Encouragingly, 25 out of 60 low- and middle-income countries have reported plans to increase domestic funding for HIV responses in 2026, pledging a collective 8% rise—amounting to an additional US$180 million.

While insufficient to replace the scale of lost international support, these moves reflect a growing sense of national responsibility. South Africa, for instance, now funds 77% of its AIDS response. Its 2025 budget includes a 5.9% annual increase in health expenditure over the next three years, with a 3.3% boost specifically for HIV and tuberculosis programmes.

South Africa also plans to develop:

• A national patient information system

• A centralised chronic medicine dispensing and distribution system

• A facility-based medicine stock surveillance system

Furthermore, seven countries—Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, Rwanda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—have achieved the 95-95-95 targets:

• 95% of people living with HIV know their status

• 95% of those diagnosed are on treatment

• 95% of those on treatment are virally suppressed

This milestone demonstrates that ending AIDS is possible with political will, community engagement, and sustainable investment.

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Breakthrough Prevention Tools Offer New Hope

On the innovation front, UNAIDS highlighted the advent of long-acting injectable PrEP as a promising game-changer. A new drug, lenacapavir, has shown near-complete efficacy in clinical trials, offering a new horizon in HIV prevention. However, affordability and accessibility remain major challenges, particularly in resource-limited settings.

UNAIDS is advocating for equity in access, so that advances in medical science can benefit everyone—regardless of geography or income.

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A Global Call for Solidarity and Action

The report concludes with an urgent appeal for global solidarity. It calls on international donors, multilateral institutions, and philanthropic partners to rally behind community efforts, bridge the funding gap, and safeguard the progress achieved so far.

UNAIDS argues that every dollar invested in the HIV response:

• Saves lives

• Strengthens health systems

• Drives progress toward sustainable development goals

Since the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic:

• 26.9 million deaths have been averted due to treatment

• 4.4 million children have been protected from vertical transmission

“In a time of crisis, the world must choose transformation over retreat,” said Byanyima. “Together, we can still end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030—if we act with urgency, unity, and unwavering commitment.”