THE World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that sharp cuts to international donor funding are disrupting HIV services globally and could jeopardise decades of progress, even as new prevention tools offer a rare opportunity to reduce infections.
The call came in a statement on December 1, to mark World AIDS Day 2025, with the WHO highlighting the transformative potential of Lenacapavir (LEN) – a twice-yearly injectable that the organisation approved in 2025 as an additional pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) option.
LEN is designed for people who struggle with daily oral medication or face stigma while accessing HIV services.
The WHO described 2025 as a year of “remarkable momentum” due to the introduction of the long-acting injection, even as “sharp and sudden reductions in international funding” forced countries to scale back or shut down community-led HIV programmes, including PrEP services and harm-reduction initiatives for people who inject drugs.
“We face significant challenges, with cuts to international funding, and prevention stalling,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“At the same time, we have significant opportunities, with exciting new tools with the potential to change the trajectory of the HIV epidemic. Expanding access to those tools for people at risk of HIV everywhere must be priority number one for all governments and partners,” he added.
Themed “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response,” the global health body warned that the global HIV response stood at a critical crossroads.
Nigeria has one of the largest HIV epidemics in Africa, with over 1.9 million people living with the condition. While the country has made gains with treatment access, prevention efforts, particularly PrEP uptake, remain slow, partly due to stigma, structural barriers, and dependence on external funding.
Stalled progress and growing vulnerabilities
Global data from 2024 show that HIV prevention stagnated, with 1.3 million new infections recorded for the third consecutive year. Key populations, including sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender women, and people who inject drugs, accounted for 49 per cent of new infections.
These groups continue to face disproportionately high risks driven by stigma, discrimination, and legal barriers to accessing care. An estimated 40.8 million people were living with HIV globally in 2024, and 630,000 people died from HIV-related causes.
According to the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, 2.5 million people who were using PrEP in 2024 lost access to their medications in 2025 due entirely to donor funding reductions.
Recall that at his inauguration on Monday, January 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order reversing the US 2021 reunion with the WHO by his predecessor – Joe Biden.
Trump criticised the financial contributions required from the US, claiming they were disproportionately high compared to other nations.
He also highlighted that China, with three times the population of the US, contributed much less to the organisation’s budget.
The order directed federal agencies to immediately halt funding to the WHO, recall US personnel working with the organisation, and identify alternative partners to take on activities previously overseen by the WHO.
New tools, old barriers
However, despite the disruptions, WHO said new innovations offered a chance to reinvigorate global prevention strategies.
“We are entering a new era of powerful innovations in HIV prevention and treatment,” said Tereza Kasaeva, WHO’s Director for HIV, TB, Hepatitis and STIs. “By pairing these advances with decisive action, supporting communities, and removing structural barriers, we can ensure that key and vulnerable populations have full access to life-saving services.”
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M