UNFPA Warns Of 3.3 Million New HIV Cases

The United Nations Population Fund has warned that 3.3 million additional people could acquire HIV by 2030 unless urgent action is taken to reverse ongoing disruptions affecting global prevention programmes.

It stressed that recent funding cuts are undermining efforts across vulnerable regions and communities worldwide, placing millions at greater risk and threatening progress made in reducing new infections.

UNFPA Executive Director Diene Keita issued the warning in a statement on Monday, marking the 2025 World AIDS Day, commemorated every Dec.1, urging renewed focus on stabilising threatened prevention programmes and sustaining global commitment.

The 2025 theme, “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response,” underscores mounting challenges facing HIV programmes and emphasises the necessity of rebuilding systems weakened by reduced funding and shifting political and economic priorities.

Keita noted that in spite of advancements in medical technologies and public policies, progress made over decades was increasingly jeopardised, with prevention gains eroding as essential services struggled to reach people at elevated risk.

She stressed that severe cuts in international aid were destabilising HIV prevention efforts, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where millions relied on donor-supported programmes to access accurate information, prevention tools and essential community-based support.

According to Keita, almost 2.5 million people have lost access to lifesaving Pre-exposure Prophylaxis due to shrinking resources, with countries recording half of last year’s new HIV infections experiencing the harshest consequences from dwindling funding.

She warned that failure to rapidly reverse the trend could result in 3.3 million additional HIV infections by 2030, disproportionately affecting adolescent girls and young women already facing heightened vulnerability in many communities.

Keita highlighted that girls and women aged 15 to 24 accounted for one quarter of new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa, with gender inequality, violence and social stigma severely limiting their ability to access care.

She emphasised that AIDS increased maternal mortality, restricted women’s rights and choices, and imposed profound long-term consequences on families and communities, making prevention an essential aspect of broader development and gender equity goals.

Sustaining progress, she said required stronger national leadership and sustainable financing, alongside meaningful policy reforms that expanded access to care and protect vulnerable populations relying heavily on public health interventions.

Keita urged countries to decriminalise same-sex relations and sex work, noting such reforms would significantly improve access to prevention services and treatment information for key populations historically excluded from essential healthcare systems.

She added that addressing gender inequality, stigma and violence would meaningfully reduce conditions increasing vulnerability to HIV, especially among young women lacking consistent access to accurate information, supportive environments and competitive economic opportunities.

Keita stressed the importance of integrating HIV services into sexual and reproductive healthcare, including maternal health and family planning services, to reach more women and girls through existing systems they routinely relied on.

Describing the situation as a “crossroads,” Keita reaffirmed UNFPA’s commitment to supporting countries in strengthening prevention, treatment and related services for adolescent girls, young women and populations facing increased HIV exposure.

She said collective global efforts had already saved almost 27 million lives, but maintaining momentum was essential to completing outstanding goals and ensuring future generations lived free from HIV and AIDS-related burdens.

Keita urged the world to work together and finish what proven strategies had already demonstrated, insisting that an AIDS-free future remained achievable with coordinated commitment and sustained investment in evidence-based prevention.

World AIDS Day, established in 1988 by the World Health Organisation, aims annually to raise awareness, honour lives lost, and mobilise global commitment towards ending AIDS as a public health threat.

The 2025 theme calls for renewed efforts to address emerging challenges, rebuild disrupted prevention programmes and accelerate global progress toward eliminating AIDS as a major public health threat within the coming decade.