Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
The United Nations warns that the global fight against HIV/AIDS faces serious setbacks due to significant funding cuts and a worsening legal climate for marginalized groups. Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, called this the most serious disruption since the global HIV/AIDS response began.
The UNAIDS Global AIDS brief reports a 23% decline in global development assistance for HIV/AIDS in 2025, the sharpest drop on record. HIV testing programs have decreased by 22% in high-burden areas, and funding for condoms has fallen by over 90% in some regions. Additionally, two countries introduced new criminalisation laws related to same-sex sexual activity in 2025, and another increased penalties in 2026, reversing previous progress in rights protections.
Funding reductions and increased criminalisation have led to decreased access to prevention and treatment. For example, use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a daily medication preventing HIV, dropped by 38% from 2024 to 2025 in 62 countries reporting to UNAIDS. Prevention spending, already only 11% of total HIV funding in 2024, continues to shrink, with no sign of increased domestic funding to cover the gap.
Despite these challenges, the HIV response has achieved notable successes over 25 years, including a 56% decline in AIDS-related deaths from 1.3 million in 2010 to 570,000 in 2025, and a 43% reduction in new infections to 1.2 million. Currently, 78% of the 40.9 million people living with HIV are on treatment. However, nearly nine million remain untreated, and these gains are described as fragile amid funding cuts and growing legal barriers for vulnerable populations.