The world risks a resurgence of the HIV epidemic after international funding fell by nearly a fifth last year, according to a new report from UNAIDS, which warned that decades of progress against the disease could be reversed without renewed global support.
Released on Monday (27 July) at the start of the International AIDS Conference in Brazil, the report said international HIV funding dropped 18% to $7.3 billion in 2025, its lowest level in almost two decades.
"The international community has entered a period of profound political and financial upheaval that threatens decades of hard-won gains against HIV," the report said.
"Without renewed commitment and action, the world risks a resurgence of the HIV epidemic."
UNAIDS warned that the funding shortfall could reverse gains that have reduced new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths to their lowest levels in more than 30 years.
The agency also reiterated that the global target of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 remains off track.
The United States had previously provided around 75% of international HIV funding before President Donald Trump's return to office in January 2025.
Soon after taking office, Trump ordered a temporary suspension of all U.S.-funded HIV programmes. While funding for life-saving treatment was later restored, many prevention programmes remained curtailed.
UNAIDS said the disruption had contributed to the decline in global funding, although increased domestic spending by some countries helped limit the overall reduction in total HIV resources to 6% last year.
The report said not all governments were able to compensate for the loss of international support, with some of the largest declines recorded in sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for roughly half of all new HIV infections worldwide.
National data from Cameroon, Nigeria and Zambia showed that the number of people receiving pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a medicine that helps prevent HIV infection, fell by more than 50%.
"HIV funding disruptions severely impacted HIV prevention, testing and key components of treatment programmes," the report said, adding that community-led services reaching the most vulnerable populations had also been affected.
An estimated 1.2 million people acquired HIV globally last year, according to UNAIDS.
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