The ‘dangerous moment’ threatens to set back efforts to combat HIV/AIDS for years

“There is There is no doubt that this is the most serious breakdown in the response to HIV since the whole world united to fight this disease,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director UNAIDS.

Every week, 3,000 adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa contract HIV, one of the clearest signs that the world is failing to reach society’s most vulnerable groups.

“Funding cuts, combined with a reduction in civic space and further criminalization of marginalized groups have created the biggest storm ever in the HIV responsehe said.

People cannot access treatment and the virus continues to spread, UNAIDS found.

Sharp decline in global aid

Here are some important points of Global AIDS Summary – Unite to end AIDS:

• Global development assistance from various countries fell by 23 percent in 2025, the sharpest decline ever recorded
• HIV programs have been particularly hard hit testing programs fell by 22 percent in a high load situation between 2024 and 2025
• Funding for condoms has been committed cut by more than 90 percent in some cases.
• In 2025, two additional countries introduced criminalization of same-sex sexual activity, and one country increased penalties for same-sex sexual activity in 2026.
• PrEP (daily medication to prevent HIV) absorption decreases sharply falling by 38 percent between 2024 and 2025 in 62 countries reporting to UNAIDS.

Read the full report Here.

Rights are canceled as a precaution, care is dismantled

The report also shows a dangerous decline in human rights, with criminalization of marginalized groups increasing for the first time since UNAIDS began tracking this trend.

Additionally, HIV prevention is being dismantled at a time when the world needs to implement it more widely, especially with the introduction of new, revolutionary, and long-term prevention innovations.

Prevention is already underfunded, accounting for only 11 percent of total HIV spending in 2024 and that limited investment is now shrinking with no sign that domestic funding will fill the gap, according to the report.

A fragile success

The response to HIV is the greatest success story in global health over the past 25 years:

• AIDS-related deaths has been reduced by 56 percent from 1.3 million in 2010 to 570,000 in 2025
• New infections have been reduced by 43 percent since 2010 it has become 1.2 million
• 78 percent of the 40.9 million people living with HIV are currently on treatment

But this success is fragile.

Nearly nine million people do not receive treatment.

At a time when external funding is decreasing, treatment progress is also very weak.

Uneven progress amid funding cuts

A recent study of 79 community-led organizations in 47 countries and three continents (Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Africa) shows:

• A 50 percent reduction in community support services for PLWHA
• Reduction in services for sex workers by 82 percent
• An 85 percent reduction in services for men who have sex with men.

When communities lose funding, the entire response loses reach, trust and effectiveness, according to UNAIDS, which also reports uneven progress as infections rise, including in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America.

“We know how to end AIDS,” said Ms. Byanyima.

“The question now is political: do we invest or withdraw?”

‘We can still end AIDS by 2030’

At the High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS at the UN General Assembly on June 22 and 23, countries will adopt a new political declaration with the aim of ending AIDS in the next five years.

The new declaration will include new targets for 2030 from the Global AIDS Strategy.

Overarching targets include reaching 40 million people with antiretroviral treatment by 2030, ensuring 20 million people have access to medicines to prevent HIV and ensuring that all people receive services free from stigma and discrimination.

“If we follow the Global AIDS Strategy and UN Member States commit to adopting a strong political declaration to guide the response over the next five years, we can still end AIDS by 2030,” said the UNAIDS chief.

“However, if we fail to act, we risk reversing decades of hard-won progress.”

Find out more about what UNAIDS does Here.