London: Decades of steady progress in the global fight against AIDS are now at grave risk following the sudden suspension of US funding that has underpinned prevention, treatment, and care programs in some of the world’s most vulnerable regions.
The abrupt halt has caused a systemic shock, warned the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), which cautioned that without swift action, more than 4 million AIDS-related deaths and 6 million new HIV infections could occur by 2029.
The dramatic funding cut came in January 2025, when US President Donald Trump ordered an immediate freeze on all foreign aid and initiated the closure of USAID, the primary agency overseeing the global HIV response.
The $4 billion previously pledged by the US for 2025 vanished overnight, leaving health systems in disarray across low- and middle-income countries.
UNAIDS’ new report, AIDS, Crisis and the Power to Transform, is here!
It shows that a historic funding crisis is threatening to unravel decades of progress unless countries can make radical shifts to HIV programming and funding.Download report: https://t.co/m4k5OsJt4g
— UNAIDS Global (@UNAIDS) July 10, 2025
“The current wave of funding losses has already destabilized supply chains, shuttered health clinics, halted HIV testing, and forced community organizations to scale back or cease operations entirely,” UNAIDS warned in a report released Thursday.
The US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), launched in 2003 under President George W. Bush, has long been hailed as the largest financial commitment by any nation to combat a single disease.
For more than two decades, the program has supported HIV testing for 84.1 million people and provided life-saving treatment for 20.6 million across the globe. In some countries, such as Nigeria, PEPFAR funded 99.9 percent of the national budget for essential antiretroviral medicines.
The funding freeze, however, has created a dangerous vacuum. Experts warn that the withdrawal could reverse decades of hard-won progress, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for nearly half of all new HIV infections.
The impact extends beyond clinical care. Experts warn that the US was the primary funder of HIV surveillance systems in many African countries, including patient registries, hospital reporting, and electronic health records. The collapse of these systems could make it nearly impossible to track or control the spread of HIV.
1.3 million people acquired HIV last year.
Every new infection is one too many.
To #EndAids, we must step up prevention efforts & ensure equal access to vital services.https://t.co/D622iVHIgP pic.twitter.com/xrGeoWtit7
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) July 10, 2025
Last month, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Yeztugo, a twice-yearly injectable from pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences that has shown 100 percent effectiveness in preventing HIV infection in clinical trials.
The global death toll from AIDS, which peaked at approximately 2 million in 2004, fell to an estimated 630,000 in 2024, marking the lowest level in over three decades. Yet UNAIDS warns that progress was already uneven before the funding cuts, with some regions seeing rising infections and treatment gaps.
Without immediate intervention from alternative donors or the reinstatement of US aid, millions risk losing access to life-saving treatments, and the world’s fragile progress against one of the deadliest pandemics in modern history could unravel.
