The HIV epidemic is returning to countries around the world — Reuters
The global fight against HIV/AIDS is under threat due to a sharp decline in funding. The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) reported that global spending on HIV/AIDS response fell by nearly 20% last year—to its lowest level in nearly two decades. This could make it harder to achieve the goal of ending AIDS by 2030 and could set the stage for a new surge in cases.
Funding fell by 18% to $7.3 billion in 2025. This threatens to reverse the progress that had previously brought the number of new HIV cases and AIDS-related deaths to their lowest levels in more than 30 years. Last year, approximately 1.2 million people became infected with HIV.
“The international community has entered a period of profound political and financial upheaval, which threatens a decade of hard-won achievements in the fight against HIV. Without a renewal of commitments and action, the world risks facing a resurgence of the HIV epidemic,” states the 60-page UNAIDS report, released at the start of the International AIDS Conference in Brazil.
Until U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, Washington provided 75% of international funding for the fight against HIV. That same month, he temporarily suspended all funding for HIV programs, and a few days later restored only life-saving assistance—most prevention programs remained underfunded.
The reduction in foreign funding was partially offset by an increase in domestic spending by countries, so the total amount of resources allocated to the fight against HIV decreased by 6%. However, not all governments were able to cope: prevention programs suffered the greatest setbacks in sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for about half of the world’s new infections. According to data from Cameroon, Nigeria, and Zambia, the number of people receiving pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has fallen by more than half.
“Financial disruptions have severely impacted prevention, testing, and key components of HIV treatment, particularly community-based service networks that reach the most vulnerable people,” the report states.
The document also reiterates that the global goal of ending AIDS by 2030 is falling further and further behind schedule—due to a lack of funding and other crises, including Ebola outbreaks.
This global underfunding also affects Ukraine, which is at war with Russia and has limited healthcare resources. As early as the beginning of 2025, Washington temporarily suspended all USAID projects in Ukraine, and later there was talk of plans to nearly halve the combined budget of the State Department and USAID for 2026. Under pressure from Congress, there are plans to restore some aid programs for other countries, but the overall trend toward reduced funding remains.
The United Kingdom has followed suit: it has cut its contribution to the Global Fund by £150 million and plans to reduce spending on global health programs by approximately half between 2026 and 2029.
For Ukraine, where the war has created a large number of displaced persons and damaged medical infrastructure, the uninterrupted operation of testing and antiretroviral therapy programs remains one of the main tools for containing the infection within the country. The reduction in support from Western partners is placing additional strain on this system amid martial law.
Source: Reuters
As a reminder, the death toll from the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has exceeded 1,000.
Earlier reports indicated that the Democratic Republic of the Congo had recorded its 17th Ebola outbreak, which has already claimed the lives of 80 people. This time, the disease was likely caused by the little-studied Bundibugyo ebolavirus strain, rather than the more common Zaire ebolavirus.
Ethiopia has recorded its first outbreak of the Marburg virus, which is clinically similar to Ebola. The pathogen is capable of spreading rapidly, but there are no vaccines against it.
