UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned of a setback in the fight against AIDS and HIV in light of funding cuts. “The number of AIDS-related deaths has fallen by 70 percent since its peak in 2004. This progress, however, is threatened by drastic funding cuts,” Guterres wrote on the platform X.
Winnie Byanyima, head of the UN program UNAIDS, cited OECD figures showing that development aid declined by 23 percent in 2025. HIV programs in countries with high disease burden and low income have been particularly hard hit. “In regions with especially high HIV burden, the number of HIV tests has fallen by 22 percent,” Byanyima said. Condom financing has also been slashed by more than 90 percent in some places.
Byanyima also warned of setbacks in the rights of particularly vulnerable groups such as girls and women, gay men, transgender people, or sex workers. Increasing criminalization fuels the spread of HIV.
Ahead of the UN General Assembly, Guterres said: “Let us be clear: AIDS is not over.” By the end of 2024, 9.2 million people in need still lacked access to treatment. UN figures show that in the same year about 630,000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses. The plenary session of all UN member states will hold on June 22 and 23 to discuss HIV and AIDS.
Marcy Ellerton
