Global Aid Cuts Leave 1.2 Million People Without HIV Prevention Drugs in Nigeria and 61 Other Countries

Nigeria and 61 other countries have experienced significant setbacks in HIV prevention efforts following sharp reductions in international aid funding, according to new data released by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

The agency disclosed on Friday that nearly 40 per cent fewer people received pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) a medication used to prevent HIV infection in 2025 compared to the previous year.

Data presented by UNAIDS showed that the number of people who received PrEP at least once fell from 3.3 million in 2024 to 2.1 million in 2025, representing a decline of approximately 1.2 million individuals across countries including Nigeria, Cameroon and Uganda.

The findings, reported by Reuters, also revealed that funding for condoms, another key HIV prevention tool, declined by more than 90 per cent in some countries.

UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, described the situation as one of the most severe disruptions to HIV services since the global response to the epidemic began.

“We are undergoing perhaps the most serious disruption of HIV services since the HIV response started,” Byanyima said.

“We can’t sit here thinking that the impact isn’t so dramatic.”

She warned that the funding crisis, coupled with growing restrictions and discrimination affecting vulnerable populations, could lead to increases in HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths in the coming years unless urgent action is taken.

According to UNAIDS, new HIV infections declined slightly in 2025, falling by about 100,000 cases to 1.2 million globally.

However, the agency cautioned that reduced testing rates in several high-burden countries may mean the full extent of new infections is not yet known.

Byanyima noted that HIV testing declined by 22 per cent in some countries heavily affected by the disease.

Despite the challenges, treatment coverage continued to improve, with approximately 32.1 million people receiving antiretroviral therapy as of December 2025.

Although this represented a 2.7 per cent increase compared to the previous year, UNAIDS said the growth rate remained below historical annual increases of around four per cent.

The agency credited governments, local communities and health organisations for helping sustain treatment programmes despite funding pressures, preventing what many experts feared could become a major treatment crisis.

However, UNAIDS warned that prevention programmes have been far more vulnerable to funding reductions.

The report also noted that domestic investment in HIV programmes increased in several countries for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nevertheless, the organisation expressed concern over the closure of many community-based organisations that have historically formed the backbone of HIV prevention, awareness and support services and have depended heavily on international donor funding.

The data were released ahead of a high-level United Nations meeting on HIV/AIDS scheduled to take place in New York later this month.

UNAIDS used the occasion to call for renewed global solidarity and investment in HIV prevention and treatment programmes, even as the agency itself faces uncertainty amid proposals for its closure in 2026 as part of wider UN cost-cutting measures.