Ending AIDS is within reach, but UK funding cuts risk progress

UNAIDS modelling shows ending AIDS globally by 2030 is achievable with scaled prevention and treatment, but recent UK cuts to Official Development Assistance and a reduced pledge to the Global Fund are constraining support.

The United Kingdom has been a long-standing contributor to the global HIV and AIDS response, helping to found institutions such as the Global Fund and Unitaid. UNAIDS modelling and the Fast-Track approach indicate that scaled prevention and treatment could avert millions of infections and deaths and make ending AIDS by 2030 achievable. Recent reductions in development funding, including the UK’s decision to set Official Development Assistance at 0.3% of GNI, have narrowed available support for global health programmes. Observers are awaiting further announcements about the UK’s funding to Unitaid, UNAIDS and the Robert Carr Fund. Key facts: - UNAIDS Fast-Track modelling estimates that scaling up prevention and treatment could avert about 28 million infections and 21 million deaths by 2030. - The UK has set Official Development Assistance at 0.3% of GNI and reduced its Global Fund pledge to £850 million, a reported 15% decrease from the previous pledge. - Analysis cited in the article notes that major cuts to HIV funding abroad, including from the US, have been linked to projections of additional AIDS-related deaths in coming years. - The UK’s forthcoming announcements on funding for Unitaid, UNAIDS and the Robert Carr Fund are awaited and will affect the broader HIV response. Summary: Reduced development funding is affecting institutions that have supported decades of progress against HIV, and modelling indicates that continuing scale-up of prevention and treatment could still deliver large reductions in infections and deaths. The immediate next step reported is the awaited announcement of the UK’s funding for Unitaid, UNAIDS and the Robert Carr Fund; the longer-term impact will depend on how funding and political commitments evolve.