The World Health Organization marked World AIDS Day 2025 with a stark warning: global progress against HIV is under threat. Under the theme “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response,” WHO urged governments to boost investments and strengthen health systems as declining funding and service interruptions jeopardize decades of hard-won gains.
Globally, an estimated 40.8 million people are living with HIV. In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, HIV infections nearly doubled in less than a decade — rising from 37,000 in 2016 to 72,000 in 2024. Yet fewer than 4 in 10 people know their status, and less than one-third are on treatment.
WHO warned that shrinking budgets have disrupted HIV services, especially in fragile and conflict-affected areas. Community-led programmes — essential for reaching marginalized groups — are being sidelined. Despite major scientific advances that make HIV a manageable chronic condition, domestic funding remains far too low.
Without urgent action, WHO says, new infections and deaths will rise, health systems will come under greater strain, and the 2030 goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat could be missed.
WHO is calling for countries to:
- increase domestic HIV funding
- integrate HIV services into broader health systems
- scale up innovative and community-led service models
- strengthen prevention, digital tools and AI-driven approaches
- tackle stigma, discrimination and punitive laws
“Today, I call on all governments to raise public awareness, increase domestic funding, integrate HIV into broader health services, adopt innovative approaches and strengthen prevention,” said WHO Regional Director Dr Hanan Balkhy.