A new UNAIDS report warns that the global fight against HIV has entered a dangerous phase, linking a surge in preventable deaths and major disruptions in prevention services to steep funding cuts that followed Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

According to the report, the withdrawal of international support has affected millions, including an estimated 2.5 million people who no longer have access to PrEP, a key medication used to prevent HIV transmission. Community groups partnering with UNAIDS have already reported deaths among people living with HIV due to shuttered clinics and treatment interruptions, though the full death toll remains under investigation.

UNAIDS says the situation escalated into “crisis mode” when the United States, long the world’s largest HIV donor, providing about 75% of global funding, temporarily paused its HIV contributions earlier this year. Other major donor nations have also reduced aid, partly because increased defence budgets have squeezed development spending.

The White House disputed UNAIDS’s findings, calling the assessment “totally false.” Spokeswoman Anna Kelly argued that President Trump “has a humanitarian heart” and said the administration is ensuring that taxpayer-funded health initiatives align with “American interests.”

Although some programmes have restarted with support from PEPFAR, overall funding continues to decline. UNAIDS warns this trajectory jeopardises the 2030 goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat.

Speaking in Geneva, Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said the agency is assisting more than 30 countries to boost domestic financing, but cautioned that the current shortfall cannot be quickly resolved and that significant obstacles remain.

The report notes that 40.8 million people globally are living with HIV, with 1.3 million new infections in 2024. Between 2010 and 2024, AIDS-related deaths dropped by 54% to 630,000, while new infections fell by 40%. These gains, UNAIDS warns, are now under threat as prevention services falter.

By October 2025, the distribution of preventive medications had sharply declined in several countries, Uganda (31%), Vietnam (21%) and Burundi (64%). Nigeria also saw a 55% reduction in condom distribution between December of last year and March this year. A joint survey by UNAIDS and the ATHENA Network found that nearly half of women and adolescent girls reported disruptions to prevention and treatment services in their communities.

The agency stresses that without an immediate revival of global support, the world risks losing critical progress and placing millions more people in danger.