The United Nations AIDS Program in Geneva said on Tuesday that the reduction in international funding to combat AIDS has had far-reaching consequences and resulted in shock waves in low- and middle-income countries affected by the disease.
The UN agency said in its annual report ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1 that the reduction could cause 3.9 million additional infections with the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS.
It explained that “the funding crisis in 2025 has thrown the level of AIDS control into turmoil,” and the agency pointed out that the new report showed “evidence that flexibility, investment, and innovation are coupled with global solidarity as long as it provides a path to eliminating AIDS.”
Last year, about 1.3 million people were infected with the virus, and about 630,000 died from it. The total number of people infected with the disease by the end of 2024 reached approximately 40.8 million
people, and more than 3 quarters of them can obtain appropriate treatment.
The report noted that infections and deaths have declined significantly since 2010.
The United Nations AIDS Program recorded a 31% decrease in the number of people receiving treatment with preventive medications in Uganda between the end of 2024 and last September. The decline in Burundi reached 64%.
Condom distribution in Nigeria fell by more than half over the first three months of 2025.