Over 26 million lives have been saved, marking the HIV response as one of the most effective public health campaigns in history.
However, this progress is now under threat. According to the latest Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) report, AIDS, Crisis and the Power to Transform, sharp funding cuts from various donors are sending shockwaves through global health initiatives. UNAIDS warns that if these trends continue unchecked, there could be 6 million more new HIV infections and 4 million AIDS-related deaths by 2029.
The report details how some nations are taking steps to fill funding gaps and keep the response alive, but for many, the path ahead remains unclear. The HIV response was built in adversity and designed to be resilient. Now, governments, communities, and the UN are adapting to meet this challenge and stay on course to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
The report will be launched at South Africa’s (SA) Bertha Gxowa Hospital in Germiston, Johannesburg, on Thursday, July 10, 2025.
The event, held in partnership with the SA National AIDS Council include UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, SA’s Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, Helen Rees of the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, and Mbulelo Dyasi, Executive Director of SANARELA, a network of religious leaders personally affected by HIV as speakers.
--ChannelAfrica--
