United Nations warns of HIV/AIDS resurgence despite discovery of revolutionary preventive drugs

A new report warns of the potential resurgence of the AIDS epidemic due to inequitable access to revolutionary prevention drugs and a sharp decline in global funding. It further cautions that more than 3 million people could become infected with HIV by the end of this decade.

The report highlights that the tools necessary to halt this crisis already exist, ranging from innovative prevention medications to community-led interventions that have proven effective. What is lacking is sustainable financing.

According to the report issued by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), the growing funding gap is already forcing countries to cut essential services and close community-based organizations. UNAIDS warned that unless urgent action is taken, the world is heading toward a resurgence of the epidemic.

This contradiction is the defining feature of the 26th International AIDS Conference, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 27 to 31.

On one hand, the world is witnessing a revolution in HIV prevention, with a new generation of drugs offering protection against infection that rivals the efficacy of vaccines. On the other hand, there are growing concerns that these advances will remain out of reach for millions of people due to high prices and patent controls held by pharmaceutical companies.

Brazil, the host country of the conference, clearly embodies this contradiction. Although it played a key role in clinical trials that helped bring lenacapavir to market, it was excluded from the list of countries authorized to produce low-cost generic versions of the drug.

Lenacapavir is a long-acting injectable medication that requires only two injections per year and prevents HIV infection in approximately 100 percent of cases, according to the latest studies.

During a side event organized by the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, the vice president of the Brazilian Multidisciplinary Association for the Study of AIDS stated that “fair and universal access remains an unattainable reality for millions of people due to high prices and the exclusion of many countries from voluntary licensing agreements.”

The Brazilian Multidisciplinary Association for the Study of AIDS, one of the co-organizers of the conference, recently published a study showing that Brazil could manufacture lenacapavir locally at a cost of less than $75 per patient per year. In contrast, the patented version costs more than $20,000, a price deemed unsustainable for Brazil’s public health system.

Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, sent a message stating, “Innovation without access is not innovation; it is injustice.”

She added that “the true measure of success lies not just in the existence of drugs, but in the ability of those who need them to actually access them at an affordable price.”

UNAIDS estimates that 20 million people need access to antiretroviral-based prevention methods if the world is to significantly reduce new infections.

Although HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths have reached their lowest levels in over three decades, the global response remains critically fragile.

New HIV infections increased in three regions and 21 countries during 2025.

International funding for the fight against the virus fell by more than $1.5 billion between 2024 and 2025, a decline of 18 percent, reaching its lowest level in nearly two decades. At the same time, global development assistance dropped by 23 percent in 2025, marking the largest annual decrease on record, with health programs, including those focused on combating HIV/AIDS, among the most severely affected. Community-led organizations received up to 25 percent of international aid allocated to HIV prevention in 2024. Research shows that in some countries, these organizations reached 22 percent of people living with the virus and up to 60 percent of marginalized populations with life-saving services. Without donor support and without strengthening local investment, community-led HIV prevention programs and responses face the risk of complete collapse.