Against HIV, retreat is not an option
Two days before the opening of the IAS 2025 conference in Kigali—which will spotlight the very real consequences of budget cuts in the fight against HIV—the 2025 UNAIDS Global AIDS Update reminds us of one simple, inexorable truth: despite major scientific breakthroughs and convincing results, the global HIV response is in the throes of an unprecedented crisis.
By the end of 2024, new infections had fallen by 40 percent since 2010, and AIDS‑related deaths by 56 percent. Yet these gains remain precarious. The abrupt halt of international funding—particularly from PEPFAR—threatens to reverse the trend: more than 6 million additional infections and 4 million extra deaths could occur by 2030 if this support is not restored.
L’Initiative, led by Expertise France and financed by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, is actively partnering with countries—especially French‑speaking ones—to bolster resilient, inclusive health systems. We support the rollout of prevention, care, and treatment services, including for the most vulnerable and often criminalized populations.
The UNAIDS report also emphasizes the crucial role of community organizations, whose impact is well documented. It is at the local level, close to social realities, that lasting transformation of the HIV response takes place. L’Initiative is convinced of this and acts accordingly.
Now is not the time to pull back, but to renew international solidarity. Transitions to more sustainable domestic financing must be managed pragmatically and equitably. They cannot happen overnight—and in the fight against HIV, any delay carries the risk of tragic consequences. Especially when scientific and medical research has delivered unprecedented opportunities, such as the ability to prevent HIV acquisition with a long‑acting injectable prophylactic.
Preserving hard‑won gains, ensuring access to innovations, and strengthening human rights: these imperatives demand a collective, ambitious, and coherent response. In the face of crisis, the power to effect change is in our hands.
