2025 World AIDS Day Report

The 2025 World AIDS Day Report presents a stark yet urgent picture of the global HIV response at a moment of disruption and possibility. After years of progress—marked by a 40% reduction in new HIV infections and a 56% drop in AIDS-related deaths since 2010—the world is now confronting a crisis triggered by the sudden collapse of major funding streams in early 2025. Despite promising breakthroughs like lenacapavir and other long-acting prevention tools that could revolutionize HIV prevention, the funding shock has destabilized treatment and prevention programs across low- and middle-income countries, where 80% of prevention efforts rely on international support. UNAIDS modelling warns that without restoration and reform of global financing, the world could see 6 million additional infections and 4 million additional deaths by 2029.

Yet the report is not only about risk—it is also a story of resilience. Communities have stepped in where systems faltered, youth groups have mobilized digital support networks, caregivers have organized to keep treatment on track, and grassroots leadership has filled life-saving gaps.

The report calls for renewed global solidarity and bold action to seize this inflection point: restoring funding, embracing emerging prevention technologies, strengthening community-led systems, and reshaping the economic architecture that underpins global health. If the world acts decisively, the tools exist not just to prevent a backslide—but to finally end AIDS as a public health threat.