2LT International News

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa: A key global plan to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 is now in deeper jeopardy after the United States slashed billions in foreign aid, including support for HIV/AIDS programs.

The warning comes from UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, who described the funding cuts as a blow to an already lagging global effort.

Speaking in Johannesburg after a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Byanyima said the world was already “off track” with 1.3 million new HIV infections reported in 2023. The U.S. cuts, she warned, could reverse progress further.

“Less funding means we will get more and more off-track,” she told reporters in South Africa, which has the largest population of people living with HIV—over eight million.

The funding cuts stem from U.S. President Donald Trump’s February decision to drastically reduce foreign aid allocations, affecting everything from treatment supply chains to testing and prevention services across Africa.

“We don’t know yet what that impact will be, but impact there will be,” Byanyima said. “Already you see in several countries a drop in the number of people going to clinics.”

Before the aid reductions, HIV prevention programs had been helping drive down new infections, albeit too slowly to meet global targets. Now, the closure of community clinics is likely to fuel a rise in infections, she warned.

In South Africa alone, where about 20 percent of the HIV response budget relied on U.S. aid, testing, and patient monitoring are already seeing disruptions. Across the continent, some nations risk running out of life-saving antiretroviral drugs due to interrupted supplies.

Despite these challenges, some lower-income countries are finding ways to fill funding gaps. “Even poor, indebted countries are managing to plug the holes,” Byanyima said, urging other wealthy nations to take action.

“We’re saying to the donors: this is one of the diseases … without a cure, without a vaccine, yet we’re seeing progress,” she added. “If you’ve got a good success story, why drop it … before you end it?”

The UNAIDS target to end AIDS as a global threat by 2030 now looks increasingly difficult to achieve without urgent global recommitment. According to Byanyima, continued investment is not only necessary—it’s within reach.