The story

Global funding for HIV fell 18 percent to $7.3 billion in 2025, the lowest level in nearly two decades, according to a UNAIDS report released at the International AIDS Conference in Brazil. The decline was driven primarily by cuts in U.S. contributions. Washington previously accounted for 75 percent of international HIV funding before President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025. That month he ordered a temporary halt to all HIV related funding before restoring life saving HIV work days later, although most prevention efforts were curtailed. The U.S. provided $4.6 billion in 2025, accounting for 74 percent of total donor government funding.

According to KFF, total payouts from donor countries dropped to $6.2 billion in 2025, a 25 percent drop from $8.3 billion in 2024, marking the largest single year decline since donor funding scale up began. The decrease was due to the Trump administration's America First Global Health Strategy, which calls for an estimated $7.3 billion decline over the next five years. Changes included freezing and ultimately canceling global HIV projects, eliminating USAID, and eliminating U.S. support to UNAIDS in 2025. The impact of foreign funding cuts was partially offset by increases in domestic spending, resulting in an overall decline of 6 percent in total HIV resources.

The UNAIDS report said 1.2 million people caught HIV last year and 570,000 people died of AIDS related illnesses. Some of the biggest declines in spending on prevention programs were in sub Saharan Africa, which accounts for about half of new global infections. National data for Cameroon, Nigeria and Zambia showed more than a 50 percent decline in the number of people receiving pre exposure prophylaxis. A study found that PEPFAR supported treatment for about 77,000 fewer children in 2025 than the previous year, representing a 14 percent decline. The State Department disputed the findings, characterizing South Africa's numbers as consistent with historical trends.