Global funding cuts devastating HIV prevention programmes says UNAIDS

Ahead of World Aids Day on 1 December, the United Nations body fighting the HIV virus issued a dire warning on Tuesday.

UNAIDS said millions of people globally have lost access to treatment and preventive care due to financial shortfalls.

It said the global response to the disease “entered crisis mode” after the world’s largest donor, the United States, halted funding when President Donald Trump took office in January.

While some of the HIV funding was restored in the second half of the year, certain programmes have not resumed in the wake of Trump’s decision to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said that while it was working with countries to move away from dependency on international donors, major challenges remained.

“This is our call to action, 40.8 million - almost 41 million people are living with HIV worldwide, 1.3 million new infections occurred last year, and 9.2 million people are still not receiving treatment. AIDS is not over,” she said.

The UNAIDS’ report, “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response” details the far-reaching consequences of international funding reductions.

It said the lack of global solidarity sent shockwaves through low- and middle-income countries heavily affected by HIV.

Dr Byrone Chingombe, technical director at the Centre for Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Research in Zimbabwe, said the cuts caused “panic, confusion, misinformation across all strata of society in our programming”.

“The tablets were on the shelves (HIV treatment) but the service providers meant to distribute them had been laid off,” he said.

Chingombe said this caused treatment disruption and adherence for treatment and prevention and importantly disrupted trust among communities.

UNAIDS says the funding shortfall is having a lasting impact on the lives of people around the world.

“Behind every data point in this report are people. Babies and children missed for HIV screening or early HIV diagnosis, young women cut off from prevention support, and communities suddenly left without services and care,” said Byanyima.

“We cannot abandon them,” she added.

“This is our moment to choose. We can allow these shocks to undo decades of hard-won gains, or we can unite behind the shared vision of ending AIDS. Millions of lives depend on the choices we make today.”

A failure to reach the 2030 global HIV targets of the next Global AIDS Strategy could result in an additional 3.3 million new HIV infections between 2025 and 2030.