Concerns rise over UK’s funding cuts to UNAIDS amid global HIV fight
Hard-won progress against HIV and Aids globally could be undone if the UK withdraws its full support for a flagship UN programme, activists have warned, reports BritPanorama.
UNAIDS, which coordinates worldwide efforts to end Aids as a public health threat by 2030, risks being “sunset” before achieving its goal due to “outrageous” backroom dealings by wealthy donors, campaigners claim.
UNAIDS is currently undergoing a significant transformation, having shed more than half of its staff since 2025 in response to global aid cuts, primarily from the US. Its board is set to meet later this month to determine the organisation’s future, addressing crucial decisions regarding budget, global presence, and staffing at the central coordinating hub.
A noticeable split has emerged between donors like the UK, advocating for a leaner organisation with a limited operational footprint, and civil society groups alongside governments in severely affected nations. The latter argue that UNAIDS is essential on the ground to aid them during this challenging period marked by reduced budgets from US aid withdrawals and complex geopolitical dynamics.
In 2026, the UK contributed $5.5 million (£4.2 million) to UNAIDS but is reportedly planning to slash its allocation to just £1 million for 2027. The government has indicated its intention to reduce aid spending from 0.5 percent of Gross National Income (GNI) to 0.3 percent over the next few years to support increased defence expenditure.
Asia Russell, executive director of Health GAP, remarked, “The time to end UNAIDS is once we have defeated this pandemic. Anything else is absurd. And parallel work by powerful donors in backrooms to try to sweep aside legitimate concerns regarding transitioning UNAIDS is outrageous.”
By 2025, about 41 million people worldwide were living with HIV, with 1.2 million new infections recorded that year, while approximately 570,000 individuals died from Aids-related illnesses. These developments come as funding for HIV efforts in low- and middle-income countries dropped by $2.1 billion (£1.6 billion) last year following significant reductions in global health funding during Donald Trump’s administration.
Recent reports from KFF and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS reveal that donor funds declined by a quarter compared to the previous year, resulting in the lowest funding levels since 2007. Total disbursements fell from $8.3 billion in 2024 to $6.2 billion in 2025.
Mike Podmore, CEO of the UK advocacy network STOPAIDS, emphasised the UK’s pivotal role: “The UK’s support is fundamental to the future of UNAIDS and the direction of the global HIV response. If donor decisions are driven by aid cuts rather than by listening to and standing side by side with the countries and communities most affected, we risk UNAIDS closing prematurely and hard-won progress being undone.”
Podmore added, “We urge the UK to honour its legacy as an HIV leader: provide ongoing funding to UNAIDS; support it to keep a country presence defending human rights and gender equality; and protect community leadership in its governance.”
Initial proposals by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to sunset UNAIDS by the end of 2026, part of broader UN reforms, were withdrawn. However, a working group has been meeting for months to develop a transition plan for the organisation.
The working group’s final document outlines a reduced UNAIDS central hub that would concentrate on advocacy, data gathering, and governance, with aspects of its current mandate potentially transferred to other organisations, like the World Health Organisation.
Three financing proposals for ongoing budgets ranging from $35 million to $90 million have been suggested, while the current core budget stands at $63 million. Some discussions hinted at a possibly lower annual budget of $25 million to $35 million.
An open letter to the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB), endorsed by over 300 civil society groups, asserts that the global HIV response is “at a critical moment” and that the board’s decisions will profoundly affect progress toward eradicating Aids as a public health threat by 2030.
The letter cautioned that discussions occurring outside the official processes might lead to uncertain outcomes concerning the future of UNAIDS, suggesting that some budget proposals are “obviously inadequate.” It urged the PCB to secure UNAIDS’ presence globally and to resist unrealistic expectations about other UN entities taking on its responsibilities due to their own financial constraints.
A UNAIDS spokesperson stated: “For more than 40 years, progress against Aids has come when countries stood together and acted in solidarity with the people and communities most affected by HIV. That principle is just as important today.”
They further affirmed that it is too early to consider ending UNAIDS and reiterated the need for steps to be determined by local realities, prioritising the protection of hard-won achievements for those living with and affected by HIV.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) confirmed the UK’s commitment to securing an effective, sustainable future for UNAIDS, highlighting a further pledge of £1 million in addition to the existing £4 million grant to support reforms and transition efforts.
The ongoing discourse highlights the complexities surrounding global health funding and the future of UNAIDS, revealing both the stakes and the uncertainties as stakeholders navigate through these challenging times.
