The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called on governments to urgently scale up access to newly approved HIV prevention tools, including the groundbreaking injectable lenacapavir (LEN), to counter rising infection risks and the growing disruption of essential health services caused by cuts in foreign aid.
This year’s sharp and unexpected reductions in international funding have significantly affected HIV prevention, treatment, and testing services. Community-led programmes, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) services and harm reduction initiatives for people who inject drugs, have been reduced or shut down entirely in several countries.
Yet despite these setbacks, 2025 has brought renewed momentum to the global HIV response with the approval and rollout of twice-yearly injectable lenacapavir for prevention. LEN, shown to be highly effective in clinical trials, is being hailed as a transformative option for people who struggle with daily pill adherence or experience stigma when seeking care.
In July, WHO formally recommended lenacapavir as an additional PrEP method, joining oral PrEP and the vaginal ring as key prevention tools.
“We face significant challenges, with cuts to international funding and prevention stalling,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “At the same time, we have significant opportunities, with exciting new tools that could change the trajectory of the HIV epidemic. Expanding access to those tools for people at risk everywhere must be priority number one for all governments and partners.”
As the world marks World AIDS Day under the theme “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response,” WHO is urging a dual-track approach, strengthening solidarity while investing in innovations that protect and empower the communities most affected.
According to the WHO, global HIV prevention efforts stagnated in 2024, with 1.3 million new infections, disproportionately affecting key and vulnerable populations. UNAIDS data show that almost half (49 per cent) of new infections occurred among sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender women, people who inject drugs, and their sexual partners.
These groups continue to face dramatically elevated risks: sex workers and transgender women are 17 times more likely to acquire HIV, men who have sex with men are 18 times more likely, and people who inject drugs are 34 times more likely.
Experts attribute these disparities to entrenched stigma, discrimination, and social, legal, and structural barriers that limit access to HIV services. They say innovations like lenacapavir could help reverse current trends, but only if access is equitable and sustained.
“We are entering a new era of powerful innovations in HIV prevention and treatment,” said Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO’s Department for HIV, TB, Hepatitis and STIs. “By pairing these advances with decisive action, supporting communities, and removing structural barriers, we can ensure that key and vulnerable populations have full access to life-saving services.”
Globally, an estimated 40.8 million people were living with HIV, and 630,000 died from HIV-related causes last year. Though confirmed global figures on the impact of funding cuts are still emerging, HIV advocacy groups warn that the consequences are already severe.
Several organisations have documented a steep decline in PrEP access, with the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition estimating that 2.5 million people who used PrEP in 2024 lost access in 2025 due solely to donor funding reductions. Advocates caution that such disruptions could undermine decades of progress and jeopardise the goal of ending AIDS by 2030.
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