Resources and funding

On 20 January 2025 the United States announced a 90-day freeze on US foreign aid which has had a devastating impact on people living with and affected by HIV, on the people and organizations supporting them and on the global response to HIV as a whole.  

Community organizations have been particularly impacted by the freeze in funding. Community healthcare workers are losing their jobs, clinics are having to be shut down and, as a result, people in need of HIV testing or prevention or who are living with HIV and dependent on daily antiretroviral medicine are unable to access the life-saving HIV services they need. 

On 10 February, UNAIDS convened an emergency meeting with community organizations to monitor the impact of the unfolding crisis. Community groups reported that HIV services around the world are facing serious challenges. Some are grinding to a halt. Supplies of antiretroviral medication, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and condoms have been disrupted, leaving many without essential tools of HIV treatment and prevention.  

HIV testing kits are increasingly scarce and outreach services – essential for connecting people in need of HIV testing – are being suspended. As a result, HIV and sexually transmitted infection testing are disrupted, threatening detection and prevention efforts. 

“The damage is immediate and severe,” said one advocate. “People who rely on [U.S.-funded] programmes for [safety and] survival are suddenly left with nothing.”  

The US pause in administering foreign assistance while it reviews recipients is not just a bureaucratic delay; it is a direct threat to continued progress against AIDS and will quickly erode decades of hard-won gains in the global HIV response. It will destroy many community organizations without which the world cannot close the gaps in HIV testing, prevention and treatment. 

The US Government has invested more than US$ 100 billion to date in the global fight against AIDS with the US accounting for around 73% of donor funding for HIV worldwide; millions of people at risk for and living with HIV rely on US funded clinics to stay healthy in the face of HIV.

Community-led data reveals community organizations are bearing the brunt of the pause

A survey conducted by the Uganda Key Populations Consortium found that 97% of respondents reported negative effects on their HIV service due to the freeze on US foreign assistance. A staggering 43% of organizations supporting key populations surveyed said they relied on US funding for at least 76% of their budgets. 

Another joint survey by Aidsfonds, the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), and the Robert Carr Fund found similarly worrying results. Of 564 organizations surveyed across 25 countries, 95% reported direct impacts from the US funding freeze. 43% of programmes have paused implementation, while 35% have fully suspended operations. 

“The results are alarming,” said Mark Vermeulen, Director of Aidsfonds. “More than half (57%) of the organizations estimate that this crisis will impact more than a million people. The longer these disruptions persist, the greater the risk of a new generation of preventable HIV infections. This threatens to undo the hard-earned progress in reducing new infections among children.” (New HIV infections among children had been reduced by 62% from 2010 to 2023, largely thanks to investment and commitment from the US Government). 

It’s not just people living with or at risk for HIV that face an existential threat 

The financial void left by the US aid freeze of its foreign assistance is forcing community groups to fire employees and/or to close up shop entirely. Many community organizations do not have sufficient funding reserves to stay afloat through the 90-day (or perhaps longer) period of no US funding. 

“The leadership of national networks of people living with HIV have been forced to let go of community cadre staff- peer educators, adherence counselors, community health facilitators, and mentor mothers,” said Florence Anam, Co-executive Director of GNP+.   

GNP+ recently convened with leaders from national and regional networks of people living with HIV and released a statement with the main concerns. 

“These organizations are not a luxury – they are critical for ending AIDS,” said Christine Stegling, Deputy Executive Director, UNAIDS. “Serving as advocates, peer educators, care providers and watchdogs, community-led organizations ensure that lifesaving HIV testing, prevention and treatment reaches those most in need.”  

Many organizations have spent years garnering the trust of the communities they serve. If these organizations disappear, even if others replace them one day, it will take years to reestablish the bonds of trust that allow them to be so instrumental in encouraging people to seek HIV care.  

In a joint survey by Aidsfonds, GNP+ and the Robert Carr Fund 22% of organizations reported increased experiences of discrimination, including reports of discrimination within healthcare settings, where people faced barriers to accessing care. 

LGBTQ+ communities in need of HIV testing, prevention and treatment fear increased risks of violence and discrimination as funding for protective services – led by HIV community groups –  disappear. 

Since the earliest days of the AIDS pandemic, communities and community-led services have been instrumental in ensuring equitable, accessible HIV testing, prevention and treatment – as well as the supportive services that make all three possible. 

Communities have been at the forefront, driving the delivery of comprehensive care, life-saving treatment and offering regular monitoring and prevention services and psychosocial support. Their unwavering dedication has not only saved millions of lives but also reshaped the trajectory of the AIDS pandemic. Their leadership and work on HIV are a model for all other responses to communicable diseases.  

By paralyzing frontline response efforts led by community groups, the US decision to freeze funding is weakening health systems across the Global South. The freeze not only jeopardizes precious gains made to date against HIV – it also threatens to usher in a new wave of entirely preventable HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths. 

The community groups stressed that this crisis extends beyond HIV treatment. The funding cuts impact efforts to provide clean water, basic education and to prevent human trafficking of girls. The loss of funding is dismantling the fragile safety net that has been built over decades around the world 

“We are deeply concerned about the sustainability of the HIV response, particularly support for key populations, HIV prevention, human rights and community led responses. We are re-orienting our own efforts to support the communities and organizations that are both bearing the brunt of the loss of funding and facing targeted attacks on their rights and their very lives,” said John Plastow, Executive Director of Frontline AIDS, a global partnership, headquartered in the UK and South Africa, that works with 60 partners across 100 countries around the world.  Over 20 of their partners have said they are affected by the US foreign aid freeze. 

Since the US funding freeze on foreign assistance was announced, UNAIDS has conducted daily assessments led by its regional and country teams to track disruptions and to relay urgent needs to donors and to governments of affected countries. At country and regional levels, UNAIDS has also been convening people living with HIV and other affected communities to assess the impact and discuss mitigation measures. For the latest updates: Impact of recent U.S. shifts on the global HIV response - The global impact of PEPFAR to date | UNAIDS  

UNAIDS stands in solidarity with community leaders calling on the US, other donors and governments of affected countries to step in before irreversible damage is done. UNAIDS and communities call on the US to maintain its global leadership on, and unparalleled support for the global response to AIDS. Without immediate intervention, decades of progress in the global HIV response will be undone, leaving the world on the precipice of a public health disaster that we have the power and tools to avert. 

GENEVA, 1 February 2025— The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is urging for a continuation of all essential HIV services while the United States pauses its funding for foreign aid.   

On 29 January, UNAIDS welcomed the news that United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, had approved an “Emergency Humanitarian Waiver,” allowing people to continue accessing lifesaving HIV treatment funded by the U.S. in 55 countries worldwide. More than 20 million people - two-thirds of all people living with HIV accessing HIV treatment globally - are directly supported by the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

While continuity of HIV treatment is essential, services must continue to be monitored, and oversight provided for quality. Other critical HIV services for people, especially marginalized people including children, women, and key populations, must continue. Last year, PEPFAR provided over 83.8 million people with critical HIV testing services; reached 2.3 million adolescent girls and young women with HIV prevention services; 6.6 million orphans, vulnerable children, and their caregivers received HIV care and support; and 2.5 million people were newly enrolled on pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV infection.

Since PEPFAR was created, the United States has been steadfast in its leadership in the fight against HIV. The U.S. has saved millions of lives through its programmes, particularly in the countries most affected by HIV. PEPFAR has had remarkable results in stopping new infections and expanding access to HIV treatment – and this must continue.

Globally, there are 1.3 million people that are newly infected with HIV every year, 3,500 every day. Young women and girls in Africa are at alarming high risk of HIV, where 3,100 young women and girls aged 15 to 24 years become infected with HIV every week and at least half of all people from key populations are not being reached with prevention services.

Pregnant women in high HIV prevalent areas must be tested for HIV to determine whether they are living with HIV so they can protect their baby by taking antiretroviral therapy prior to birth. As a result, babies will be born HIV-free. 

Many organizations providing services for people living with HIV that are funded, or partly funded, by PEPFAR have reported they will shut their doors due to the funding pause with lack of clarity and great uncertainty about the future. UNAIDS is evaluating the impact and will provide routine and real-time updates to share the latest global and country information, data, guidance, and references.

“PEPFAR gave us hope and now the executive order is shattering the very hope it offered for all people living with HIV and our families.  As communities we are in shock with the continued closure of clinics. We resolutely demand that all our governments come in haste to fill the gap in human resources needed at the moment to ensure sustainability of HIV service delivery,” said Flavia Kyomukama, Executive Director at National Forum of People Living with HIV Network Uganda (NAFOPHANU).

Zimbabwe`s umbrella network of people living with HIV (ZNNP+) stated that the implementation of stop work orders has led to significant fears, including reduced access to essential services, loss of community trust and long-term health outcomes.

 As the waiver is effective for a review period of all U.S. foreign development assistance, future coverage of HIV services - including for treatment - remains unclear and the lives of the millions of people supported by PEPFAR are in jeopardy and could be at stake.

Anele Yawa, General Secretary for the Treatment Action Campaign is worried. "The PEPFAR-fund freeze will take South Africa and the world back in terms of the gains we have made in our response to HIV,” he said. "We are asking ourselves how are we going to cope in the next three months as people are going to be left behind in terms of prevention, treatment and care."

At a moment when the world can finally get the upper hand on one of the world’s deadliest pandemics, aided by new long-acting HIV prevention and treatment medicines coming to market this year, UNAIDS urges the U.S. to continue its unparalleled leadership and accelerate, not diminish, efforts to end AIDS.

UNAIDS looks forward to partnering with the United States, other donors and countries most affected by HIV to ensure a robust and sustainable response to HIV and to achieve our collective goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Progress towards ending AIDS as a public health threat has been strongest in the countries and regions with sufficient investments in their HIV responses, especially in countries from eastern and southern Africa. However, a critical part of this success lies in understanding where resources are being allocated and ensuring that investments are directed towards the most impactful interventions.

“HIV financial data is essential for decision-making”, said Jaime Atienza, Director of Equitable Finance at UNAIDS. “This is especially important when we can see constraints, now and around the corner.”

To reflect on the current use and future potential of HIV financial data, UNAIDS and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria brought together representatives from 10 African countries to Cape Town, South Africa. During the event, countries shared how they are using HIV financial data to transform their national HIV responses.

In the case of Kenya, for example, the 2022 National AIDS Spending Assessment (NASA) revealed that approximately 84% of the funds for care and treatment programmes came from external sources. This heavy reliance on external funding prompted the development of a cabinet advisory note on local commodity manufacturing, aimed at addressing commodity security risks. In response, the Office of the Presidency issued a statement on Worlds AIDS day 2022 directing that the government would support the pharmaceutical sector to strengthen its local manufacturing capacity and review relevant regulations and tax policies to create an enabling environment.

In Mozambique another NASA study showed how the country spent 26% less on HIV treatment than the National Strategic Plan required, while still surpassing the antiretroviral (ART) coverage target. ART unit costs have fallen from US$ 208 in 2017 to US$ 137 in 2022—well below most countries in the region. Economies of scale and differentiated service delivery likely contributed to this outcome. “We are using this data to inform multi-sectoral plans and state budgets” said Francisco Mbofana, Executive Secretary of Mozambique's National AIDS Council.  

HIV financial data is also seen by countries as an effective tool for mobilizing resources. Ethiopia’s NASA and National Health Accounts (NHA) informed a Domestic Resource Mobilization Strategy. The Strategy aims to boost domestic investment from US$ 27.9 million in 2020 to US$ 68.5 million by 2025 through government revenues, AIDS fund(s), targeted mainstreaming, community care coalitions, and earmarked taxes. In addition, South Africa demonstrated to the Global Fund that of the US$ 6.3 billion the government committed to invest in HIV from 2022-2025, US$ 6.2 billion (98.99%) is likely to be realized. This, in turn, unlocks the US$ 92.7 million co-financing incentive from the Global Fund grant for 2025-2028.

Financial data has also stressed the major underinvestment in HIV prevention. “The de-prioritization of HIV prevention is among the top sustainability threats,” said Thembisile Xulu, Chief Executive Officer of the South African National AIDS Council. While prevention will require a third (32.8%) of total HIV resources by 2025, NASA data shows current HIV prevention spending is at 9.4% in Kenya, 9% in Namibia, 11% in South Africa, and 13% in Uganda.

Nonetheless, several strategies to boost HIV prevention investments are being developed following evidence provided by HIV financial data. Kenya used its NASA data to develop guidelines for harnessing resources from construction projects to support HIV prevention. Zimbabwe’s resource tracking influenced a new policy to implement social contracting with a least one civil society organization per province, to channel domestic resources to community-led HIV responses. Zimbabwe has committed to invest 21% of domestic funds in HIV prevention, with a focus on key populations.

In the current environment of dwindling resources for HIV—2023 recorded the lowest amount of resources available for HIV in low-and-middle income countries in a decade—strengthening HIV resource tracking is key to ensure effective and sustainable HIV responses. “We need to plan for sustainability,” said Nertila Tavanxhi, Senior Manager for Health Financing Country Support at the Global Fund. “To do this, we really need to understand who is funding what, where and whom. This will show us the gaps, and where we must focus.”

“We are in a time of transformations towards sustainability,” said Mr Azcona. The National HIV Response Sustainability Roadmaps are an essential part of the work that the Global Fund, UNAIDS, PEFPAR and country partners are undergoing in 2024 and 2025. “This makes it even more important to have the right data to make the best possible choices on what these transformations must be.” 

GENEVA, 15 October 2024—The Spanish government has today announced a further € 1 million contribution to UNAIDS to support its work to end AIDS by 2030 as part of Sustainable Development Goals. The announcement was made following a meeting between Spain’s Minister of Health Mónica García Gómez and the Executive Director of UNAIDS Winnie Byanyima in the country’s capital Madrid.

“We warmly welcome Spain’s commitment to ending AIDS,” said Ms Byanyima. “We are at a critical moment in the response to HIV, and the path global leaders take this year will determine whether the pandemic continues indefinitely or we end AIDS by 2030. Spain’s solidarity with UNAIDS and the global AIDS response, and its commitment to tackling stigma and discrimination, is testament to their determination to get the world on track to end AIDS and save millions of lives. Spain has set an example for the rest of the world.”

Spain is a long-standing champion of the right to health. During the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2023, Spain made the fight against stigma and discrimination associated with HIV a political priority. Spain also joined the Global Partnership for Action to Eliminate all forms of HIV-related Sigma and Discrimination and is moving forward with its implementation plan to eliminate stigma in health, workplace and education settings.

UNAIDS looks forward to continuing to strengthen its partnership with Spain to advance progress towards global targets, and to build a robust and rights-based response to end AIDS by 2030 and sustain the gains into the future.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

BEIJING, 15 July 2024 – The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and China signed two new Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) to advance joint strategic efforts to end AIDS in China and globally.

The first agreement was signed on 10 July by Wang Hesheng, Vice Minister of the National Health Commission and Administrator of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration (NDCPA) and Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, in Beijing. UNAIDS and China have agreed to deepen their collaboration to reach the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, within the context of China’s Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The agreement acknowledges China’s commitment to take a leadership role in the global HIV response including mobilizing partners and supporting efforts to end AIDS in middle- and lower-income countries. 

Mr Wang thanked UNAIDS’ for technical support and guidance around China’s HIV response, particularly in formulating HIV response plans and strategies, monitoring and assessment, as well as UNAIDS’ data collection and analysis.

“We expect to continue and further our cooperation with UNAIDS with this MOU,” he said. “The first steps will be to boost communication and coordination, and actively participate in global health governance.”

According to the agreement, NDCPA will make an annual contribution of USD$1 million to UNAIDS from 2025 to 2029, totaling USD$5 million, which includes increased core funding.

The other agreement signed in Beijing on 13 July with the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) addresses critical global development issues to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which includes promoting health and ending AIDS globally, especially in other developing countries in Africa and Asia Pacific.

Luo Zhaohui, Chairman of the CIDCA recognizes UNAIDS’ leadership in the global HIV response and encouraged UNAIDS to apply for more Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund (GDF) to address the HIV epidemic.

“Let’s work together to improve people’s health especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.” he said. "HIV is a new area for CIDCA but UNAIDS has a lot of experience so there is huge prospect to have more cooperation.”

As part of this agreement, UNAIDS and CIDCA will fund projects in developing partner countries through policy coordination, community engagement, capacity building and technical insight.

Since its founding in 2019, the CIDCA has provided steady financial support to UN agencies and developing member states. As highlighted at the annual Steering Committee of UNSDCF, 13 UN agencies mobilized more than US$ 100 million in South-South funding, predominantly from CIDCA, which assisted 85 partner countries in the areas of COVID response and resilience, social inclusion, agriculture, climate and energy efforts. Earlier this year, UNAIDS received the first GDF to support Iran’s upscaling of rapid HIV testing. UNAIDS is the second UN entity to sign a MOU with the CIDCA.

UNAIDS looks forward to deepening cooperation with China especially in South-South Cooperation and China-Africa cooperation in the areas of local drug production as well as supporting partner countries.

Ms Byanyima said, “Global South solidarity is the bedrock of the HIV response. It is only by standing together that we can end AIDS by 2030 and I welcome steps towards a deeper partnership building China and African countries.”

UNAIDS will also closely work with the African Union, the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the African Medicine Agency.   

Ms Byanyima’s week-long mission to China is her first to the country since she became Executive Director of UNAIDS.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

GENEVA, 24 June 2024— UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, and Executive Director of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund), Peter Sands, signed a new strategic framework for cooperation and collaboration to end AIDS (2024 –2028). The agreement renews the organizations’ longstanding partnership and aligns ongoing collaboration with the most recent United Nations General Assembly Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: Ending Inequalities and Getting on Track to End AIDS by 2030.

“The longstanding partnership between UNAIDS and the Global Fund has been instrumental in supporting many millions of people living with or vulnerable to HIV to enjoy better health and well-being through improved access to essential services,” said Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director. “We at UNAIDS are excited to continue building our collaboration with the Global Fund as we head toward our common goal of ending AIDS.”

The new strategic framework puts people and communities at the centre and aims to unite countries, communities and partners across and beyond the HIV response to take prioritized actions to accelerate progress towards the vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

“Our strong collaboration, especially at country level, makes a huge difference in the fight against AIDS,” said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “Our counterparts at UNAIDS play a crucial role on the ground: they help put communities living with and affected by HIV at the center of the response and ensure that rights-based approaches are widely adopted.”

The Global Fund Strategy (2023–2028) Fighting Pandemics and Building a Healthier and More Equitable World is fully aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and UNAIDS’ Global AIDS Strategy (2021–2026) End Inequalities, End AIDS, which guides the global AIDS response. It calls on all actors to scale up and sustain global and domestic investments to achieve the strategy’s ambitious targets and commitments for 2025 as well as put the world on course to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

Collaboration under the new agreement will focus on reducing the inequalities that drive the AIDS epidemic and closing the HIV prevention and treatment gaps that are preventing progress towards ending AIDS. It will also prioritize people who are not yet accessing life-saving HIV services.

The common approach supports a renewed focus on primary prevention, addressing structural drivers of HIV infection and AIDS-related deaths, and challenging inequities and human rights and gender-related barriers to services including stigma, discrimination and criminalization. It leverages new HIV prevention and treatment modalities, precision public health approaches, as well as support synergies between HIV services and related areas of health. In addition, the framework continues longstanding support to strengthen countries’ capacity to measure their epidemics and monitor their responses, and act on the data to drive results. There will also be a push for countries to map out the longer-term sustainability of the HIV response through stronger health systems, better-integrated services for HIV, and more streamlined donor contributions.

The Global Fund

The Global Fund is a worldwide partnership to defeat HIV, TB and malaria and ensure a healthier, safer, more equitable future for all. They raise and invest more than US$5 billion a year to fight the deadliest infectious diseases, challenge the injustice that fuels them, and strengthen health systems and pandemic preparedness in more than 100 of the hardest hit countries. They unite world leaders, communities, civil society, health workers and the private sector to find solutions that have the most impact, and they take them to scale worldwide. Since 2002, the Global Fund partnership has saved 59 million lives. Learn more at The Global Fund.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Debt restructuring and reforms to the global tax system are urgently required to finance health systems and other essential services

WASHINGTON/GENEVA, 16 April 2024—As financial leaders meet in Washington for the annual Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, UNAIDS is calling for increased and sustainable investments in the global response to HIV and other health threats.

“At a time of multiple geo-political and economic crises, the need to tackle the financial constraints threatening the global fight against HIV and other health threats has never been greater,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, “At their Spring Meetings in Washington, global financial leaders must find the courage to reject calls for more fiscal restraint and embrace measures that can release the necessary investments to save millions of people and transform the lives of the most vulnerable all over the world, including women and girls.”

As the world struggles to achieve many of the health goals set out in the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda, investments in the HIV response have returned extraordinary gains for humanity. Since 2010, AIDS-related deaths have declined by 51% worldwide and new HIV infections have fallen by 38%.

But more than 9 million people are still waiting to receive HIV medication that will stop them dying from AIDS and there were still 1.3 million new HIV infections in 2022. Increased investments in the HIV response today are crucial to reach everyone who needs treatment and to prevent new infections that will only increase future treatment costs.      

However, there is a huge shortfall in the global investments required to end AIDS as a global health threat by 2030. A total of US$ 20.8 billion (constant 2019 US$) was available for HIV programmes in low- and middle-income countries in 2022––2.6% less than in 2021 and well short of the US$ 29.3 billion needed by 2025.

In many countries with the most serious HIV pandemics, debt service is consuming increasingly large shares of government revenue and constraining public spending.

In Angola, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia, debt service obligations exceed 50% of government revenues. Last year, in GDP terms, Sierra Leone spent 15 times more on public debt servicing than on health, 7 times more on public debt servicing than on education and 37 times more on debt servicing than on social protection. For Angola, debt servicing was 7 times more than investments on health, 6 times more than on education and 14 times more than on social protection.

UNAIDS maintains that reform to the global financial system including the cancellation of debt, the introduction of fairer and affordable financing mechanisms and global taxation reform is key to releasing transformative funding for health, education and social protection also required to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.