Global HIV funding falls 18% in 2025

Global funding for the HIV response fell by 18% in 2025 to $7.3 billion, the steepest single-year decline since international HIV financing began expanding in 2002, according to reports by UNAIDS and KFF released at the 26th International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The decline was attributed entirely to sharp reductions in United States funding following President Donald Trump's return to the White House in January 2025, which included a temporary halt to all HIV-related funding and curtailment of most prevention efforts. European nations including France, Germany, and the UK also cut contributions. Domestic funding by affected countries rose 4% and now accounts for nearly 60% of total HIV resources, but this was insufficient to offset the international cuts, leaving the global HIV response under its greatest financial strain in over two decades. UNAIDS reported that 1.2 million people acquired HIV in 2025 and 570,000 died from AIDS-related illnesses. New infections increased in 21 countries, including Brazil, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Madagascar, while some countries like Kenya, Lesotho, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, and Eswatini continued to record progress. The reports warned that without renewed commitment, the world risks a resurgence of the HIV epidemic and the goal of ending AIDS by 2030 is increasingly out of reach. At the conference, leaders from the International AIDS Society, UNAIDS, WHO, and national health agencies called for increased domestic financing, debt restructuring, and equitable access to new prevention and treatment drugs. Merck announced plans to allow generic manufacturing of its once-monthly pill alimatravir in Africa and India, while Médecins Sans Frontières called on Gilead to make its twice-yearly injectable lenacapavir more affordable and accessible to more nations.