Research says global HIV efforts need renewed funding and focus

Research says global HIV efforts need renewed funding and focus

As the world marks World AIDS Day on December 1, world-renowned infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, MD, and his colleague Greg Folkers, MS, MPH, highlight advances in HIV treatment and prevention that could finally end the pandemic, but beware: "History will judge us harshly if we miss this opportunity."

Registered mailPLOS medicine(“Treatment and Prevention of HIV/AIDS: Unfinished Business,” December 1, 2025), Fauci, distinguished university professor at the Georgetown School of Medicine and the McCourt School of Public Policy, and Folkers, Fauci’s longtime chief of staff at the National Institutes of Health, discuss a path to eliminating HIV/AIDS. The number of people living with HIV worldwide in 2024 will exceed 40 million, with 1.3 million new infections and 660,000 deaths this year alone.

They reflect the significant progress made in developing effective therapeutics to treat and prevent HIV and underscore the importance of programs such as the Global Fund and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which have enabled the successful implementation and scale-up of treatment and prevention interventions that have saved millions of lives.

However, disruptions in U.S. foreign development assistance that resulted in the cessation of clinical services "have likely resulted in the illness and death of thousands of people infected with HIV. Modeling studies suggest that millions more HIV infections and deaths could occur if withheld funding is not restored and expanded," they write, adding: "Now is the time to advocate for the U.S. Congress to maintain funding for the Global Fund and PEPFAR at robust levels." renewed.”

Fauci and Folkers acknowledge that these two programs alone will not end the epidemic, and they emphasize the importance of countries taking control of their own HIV responses, complemented by the work of international agencies, donors, community groups, drug manufacturers, researchers and implementers.

“Only with such a multifaceted effort can we end the HIV/AIDS pandemic,” they write.

Sources: