UNAIDS Warns of Global HIV/AIDS Crisis Following US Aid Freeze

The abrupt halt of US foreign aid threatens to reverse decades of progress, with millions of lives at risk and a resurgence of the AIDS pandemic projected.

UNAIDS projects 6.3 million additional AIDS-related deaths and 8.7 million new infections globally over the next four years if US aid is not restored.
The US, historically the largest donor to global HIV/AIDS efforts, contributed 35% of UNAIDS' core budget in 2024 before the freeze was implemented in January 2025.
The funding freeze has resulted in widespread clinic closures and health worker layoffs, severely disrupting HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs worldwide.
UNAIDS has proposed a licensing deal for the HIV prevention drug lenacapavir as a potential solution, emphasizing the urgent need for innovative approaches to sustain progress.
European donors have indicated they cannot fill the funding gap, leaving UNAIDS to advocate for immediate restoration of US aid to prevent a return to 1990s-level AIDS pandemic conditions.