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UNAIDS Warns Funding Cuts Could Cause Up to 3.9 Million More HIV Infections

UNAIDS warns that 2025 cuts to international AIDS funding could lead to as many as 3.9 million additional HIV infections. Last year saw about 1.3 million new infections and roughly 630,000 AIDS-related deaths, with 40.8 million people living with HIV at the end of 2024. The report documents major service disruptions—preventive treatment fell 31% in Uganda and 64% in Burundi, and condom distribution in Nigeria dropped by over half—while noting that more than two dozen countries increased domestic health spending to help fill the gap.

10:17 PM, 11/25/2025Health
UNAIDS Warns Funding Cuts Could Cause Up to 3.9 Million More HIV Infections

UNAIDS has warned that reductions in international AIDS financing this year risk reversing hard-won gains in the global HIV response and could result in up to 3.9 million additional infections, according to its annual report released ahead of World AIDS Day.

The report notes that progress since 2010 has been substantial: in 2024 about 1.3 million people were newly infected with HIV and roughly 630,000 people died from AIDS. By the end of 2024 an estimated 40.8 million people were living with HIV, and more than three quarters of them had access to antiretroviral treatment.

"The 2025 funding crisis has thrown the AIDS response into turmoil," the report states, while also stressing that "resilience, investment and innovation combined with global solidarity still offer a path to end AIDS."

At the start of 2025, the United States—historically the largest contributor to international HIV funding—temporarily froze payments. Washington has since restarted support for HIV testing, medications and frontline health workers in other countries, but the interruption and broader cuts have already had measurable effects.

The report highlights stark service disruptions in several countries: Uganda experienced a 31% drop in people receiving preventive medication between the end of 2024 and September; Burundi saw a 64% decline. In Nigeria, condom distribution more than halved during the first three months of this year. Such setbacks risk increasing transmission and undermining long-term control efforts.

UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima warned that the rapid acceleration of financing cuts, together with setbacks on human rights, "has been devastating." At the same time, the agency points to examples of countries that have stepped up domestic funding: more than two dozen nations significantly increased health budgets and spending on AIDS programmes to partially offset the shortfall.

While the report paints a worrying picture for 2025, it also emphasizes that sustained investment, targeted innovations in prevention and treatment, and renewed international solidarity can still keep the goal of ending AIDS within reach. Policy makers and donors face urgent choices to prevent a backslide in global progress.

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UNAIDS Warns Funding Cuts Could Cause Up to 3.9 Million More HIV Infections - CRBC News