The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV AIDS (UNAIDS) has said that the AIDS epidemic could rebound as global HIV funding falls and access to breakthrough prevention medicines remains unequal.
The warning is contained in a UNAIDS report released on Monday ahead of the opening of the 26th International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The global HIV/AIDS agency warned that AIDS epidemic could stage a comeback amid unequal access to breakthrough prevention medicines and a sharp decline in global funding.
UNAIDS estimates that 20 million people need access to antiretroviral-based prevention if the world is to significantly reduce new HIV infections.
The UN agency also said 22 per cent of people living with HIV are still not receiving treatment
It said international HIV funding fell 18 per cent, the steepest decline in nearly 20 years.
“Such new medicines as lenacapavir are nearly 100 per cent effective at preventing HIV infection.
“Generic versions of lenacapavir could cost as little as $40 per person per year, but they will remain unavailable in many countries,” UNAIDS said.
By the end of this decade, UNAIDS said more than three million people could become infected with HIV.
UNAIDS said the tools to stop the HIV/AIDS crisis already existed from groundbreaking prevention medicines to community-led interventions with a proven track record.
“What is missing is sustained financing. This growing funding gap is already forcing countries to cut essential services and close community organizations,” UNAIDS said.
Unless urgent action is taken, the agency warns, the world is on course for a resurgence of the epidemic.
UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, noted a growing concern that these breakthroughs will remain out of reach for millions because they are priced too high and controlled by pharmaceutical patent holders.
“The true measure of success is not whether medicines exist, but whether the people who need them can actually obtain them and at an affordable price” she said.
International HIV financing dropped by more than 1.5 billion dollars between 2024 and 2025, an 18 per cent decline that marked its lowest level in nearly two decades.
Global development assistance fell by 23 per cent last year, the largest annual decline ever recorded, with health programmes, including HIV initiatives, among the hardest hit.
Meanwhile, new HIV infections increased across three regions and in 21 countries during 2025.
The current moment should be understood as “the end of the era of dependence on international aid”, the UNAIDS chief said.
She called for a new financing model, including measures such as sovereign debt restructuring, to enable governments to invest in “the future of their people”.
