Rita Enemuru, Reporting
A stark new warning from the World Health Organisation has revealed that more than 3,000 adolescent girls and young women across sub-Saharan Africa are contracting HIV every single week – prompting fears that the world is losing control of the AIDS epidemic.
In a report released ahead of the upcoming UN High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) cautioned that decades of hard-won progress are now under serious threat.
Declining funding, crumbling prevention programmes, and deepening inequalities risk unravelling one of public health’s greatest success stories.
According to the document, adolescent girls and young women in the region remain disproportionately affected despite years of investment.
Poverty, gender inequality, limited access to healthcare, and social vulnerability continue to fuel the crisis.
UNAIDS warned that international development assistance fell by 23 per cent in 2025 – the sharpest drop on record.
HIV testing services in high-burden countries declined by 22 per cent between 2024 and 2025, while funding for condoms – one of the cheapest and most effective prevention tools – has plummeted by more than 90 per cent in some cases.
Prevention spending accounted for just 11 per cent of total global HIV resources in 2024. Use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) dropped by 38 per cent across 62 countries between 2024 and 2025.
The report also highlighted troubling political and legal shifts. For the first time since tracking began, criminalisation of marginalised populations has increased.
Two countries introduced laws criminalising same-sex sexual activity in 2025, and another strengthened penalties in 2026.
Community-led HIV services have been decimated: support for people living with HIV fell by 50 per cent, services for sex workers dropped by 82 per cent, and programmes for men who have sex with men declined by 85 per cent.
Despite these setbacks, the report acknowledged significant achievements. AIDS-related deaths have fallen by 56 per cent since 2010 – from 1.3 million annually to around 570,000 in 2025.
New HIV infections dropped by 43 per cent over the same period, and nearly 78 per cent of the estimated 40.9 million people living with HIV worldwide now receive life-saving treatment.
However, nearly nine million people still lack access to treatment.
UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said the world already has the tools to end AIDS as a public health threat – but governments must sustain the political and financial will to deliver them.
The UN High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS will now consider a new political declaration, with targets including expanding antiretroviral treatment to 40 million people and ensuring stigma-free access to services.
The warning signs are already flashing: whether the world meets its 2030 goal depends on the decisions made this week.
