UNAIDS has launched its 2025 World AIDS Day report, titled “Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response,” highlighting a significant decline in international assistance. OECD projections indicate a potential 30–40 percent decrease in external health funding by 2025 compared to 2023. The impact is severe, especially in low- and middle-income countries heavily affected by HIV.
Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, stated in Geneva, “The funding crisis has exposed the fragility of the progress we fought so hard to achieve.” She emphasized the human impact behind the data, mentioning missed screenings and reduced prevention support.
Prevention services are hit hardest, with widespread disruption in HIV prevention, testing, and community-led programs. Thirteen countries saw a decrease in new treatment initiations. Stock-outs of test kits and medicines were reported in Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Preventive medicine distribution decreased by 31 percent in Uganda, 21 percent in Viet Nam, and 64 percent in Burundi. Additionally, 450,000 women in sub-Saharan Africa lost access to community workers linking them to care, and Nigeria noted a 55 percent drop in condom distribution.
Before the crisis, adolescent girls and young women faced significant risks, with 570 new infections daily among those aged 15–24. UNAIDS warns that disrupted prevention programs increase their vulnerability. Community-led organizations are also strained, with over 60 percent of women-led groups suspending services. UNAIDS modeling suggests that failing to restore prevention efforts could result in an extra 3.3 million new infections between 2025 and 2030.
The funding crisis coincides with increased restrictions on civil society and punitive laws targeting groups most affected by HIV. In 2025, for the first time, more countries criminalized same-sex relations and gender expression. Globally, 168 countries criminalize some aspect of sex work, 152 criminalize small-scale drug possession, 64 criminalize same-sex relations, and 14 criminalize transgender people. Restrictions on civil society further hinder access to services.
In Zimbabwe, Dr. Byrone Chingombe from CeSHHAR described the impact of funding cuts, noting service disruptions and loss of trust. HIV testing rates have fallen over 50 percent, reflecting lost access, not decreased need. Community resilience and new prevention technologies, like injectable lenacapavir, offer hope.
UNAIDS urges global leaders to reaffirm commitments, maintain and increase HIV funding, invest in innovation, and uphold human rights. “This is our moment to choose,” Byanyima said, emphasizing the importance of uniting to end AIDS and save millions of lives.
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