The government of Côte d’Ivoire is transforming access to health services, including HIV services, in its commitment to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

The government has made UHC registration mandatory and nearly 60% of the population is already enrolled, demonstrating the country’s political will to build a resilient and equitable health system.

A central priority of the Government’s UHC agenda—supported by the World Bank, the Global Fund and UNAIDS—is to ensure that all people living with HIV, estimated at over 400 000 people, are fully enrolled in the national health insurance scheme. Special attention is being given to identifying modalities through which the poorest and most vulnerable people living with HIV will benefit from free coverage under UHC.

In 2022, UNAIDS conducted an evaluation of Côte d’Ivoire’s social protection system through the lens of the HIV response. This work informed the 2024–2028 National Social Protection Strategy, which now explicitly recognizes people living with HIV as a priority vulnerable group.

“This is an urgent plea—I want all people living with HIV to have free access to the UHC card because many people simply cannot afford to contribute. I’m calling on the government to cover their premiums,” said Tinhidé Adéline, Community Counsellor.

Efforts are underway to integrate HIV-related services and products into the UHC benefits package. Over the past three years UNAIDS, in partnership with the Network of Organizations of People Living with HIV (RIP+), has mobilized communities and advocated with national authorities to ensure people living with HIV are enrolled in UHC, ensuring that stigma and exclusion do not stand in the way of health and dignity.

“UHC is a real opportunity for people living with HIV because being HIV-positive is often a barrier to accessing health insurance,” says Filbert Guéhi, Chair of the Board, RIP+.

UNAIDS, in collaboration with WHO, is also assisting RIP+ in developing a budgeted community-based strategy to sensitize and register people living with HIV in UHC to guarantee that services reach those most in need. This community-driven approach to UHC enrollment for people living with HIV represents a major step forward in ensuring equitable access to health care for vulnerable populations.

Advocacy continues to establish a sustainable national mechanism to automatically enroll the most vulnerable people living with HIV in the non-contributory Health Insurance Scheme. A two-year pilot initiative on this is currently being supported by The Global Fund and The World Bank. This is a vital step toward ensuring no one is left behind, and toward harnessing UHC as a powerful lever in the fight to end AIDS by 2030.

Ensuring full inclusion of people living with HIV in the roll out of UHC was a commitment made by the government at the annual session of the National AIDS Council in 2023 chaired by the Vice-President of Côte d’Ivoire Tiémoko Koné and in presence of the First Lady Madame Dominique Ouattara. This initiative is a cornerstone of the Government’s long-term strategy to transition towards a sustainable, nationally owned HIV response to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

GENEVA, 16 May 2025–Ahead of International day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), May 17, UNAIDS stands in solidarity with LGBTQI+ communities.

Despite gains in the HIV response, LGBTQI+ communities continue to be left behind. While new HIV infections have dropped 35% among adults globally since 2010, they have risen by 11% among gay men and by 3% among trans people. Stigma, discrimination and criminalization, as well as restrictions on the ability for community organizations to form and operate act as barriers to accessing essential healthcare.

“We pay tribute to our colleagues who are part of the LGBTQI+ community,” said Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director. “We celebrate your courage, your authenticity, and your resilience even in the face of adversity for the community. We must continue supporting and promoting partnerships of LGBTQI+ movements with people living with HIV, women and girls and other key populations. In unity, communities can find the power to disrupt injustice and drive the changes that are required to end AIDS.”

Organizations led by gay men and other men who have sex with men have increasingly come under threat due to new or strengthened repressive laws, harmful policing practices, violence and a shrinking civic space. Research has found that HIV prevalence among gay men and other men who have sex with men is ten times higher in countries where there are legal barriers to civil society groups operating.

Recent cuts in aid funding have also had a devastating impact on community-led organizations, undermining their ability to provide healthcare, peer-led outreach and defending their rights.

"Threats to the lives and dignity of LGBTI people are escalating worldwide and cuts to foreign and development aid, as well as rollbacks in diversity, equity and inclusion policies, are only making it worse — especially for our communities,” said Julia Ehrt, ILGA World Executive Director. “Every day, we see projects and organizations to advance safety, well-being, and dignity being shut down.”

The 2025 IDAHOBIT theme “The Power of Communities” celebrates the power of collective action, highlighting that communities have been the driving force for progress not just for LGBTQI+ people, but for everyone. In the HIV response, community organizations play a critical role in the HIV response because they are trusted by their peers, able to reach the most marginalized people and groups and can deliver services based on people’s needs.

They also provide critical data to improve policies and advocate politically for access to services and to end stigma and discrimination.

UNAIDS fears that the growing pressure and attacks on communities combined with huge financial cuts from international donors will have catastrophic consequences on the HIV response. The loss of peer-led services will lead to higher levels of stigma and discrimination, creating even more barriers to life-saving prevention, testing and treatment.

Activism and the work of communities have driven the HIV response for decades. UNAIDS affirms that access to health is a right for all. A community-led HIV response is essential to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

PHNOM PENH, 16 May 2025—UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, saw firsthand Cambodia’s strong progress towards ending AIDS as a public health threat during her 12-16 May mission. Among other achievements, the country treats 100% of people who are aware of their HIV status. Key approaches include national roll-out of modern HIV prevention and treatment tools, community-led service delivery and social protection. During the visit she discussed the sustainability of the response with the Royal Government and partners. 

“Cambodia’s HIV response demonstrates that ending AIDS is possible for low- and middle-income countries when we combine political will, community leadership and international support,” Ms Byanyima said.

Cambodia is on track to achieve the 95-95-95 Global AIDS Strategy targets. Currently 92% of people living with HIV are aware of their status. Almost all diagnosed people are on treatment, while more than 98% of those on treatment have achieved a suppressed viral load. Since 2010, new infections have decreased by 45%. This is higher than the overall global results and more than three times faster than the average Asia-Pacific rate of decline. 

The country employs a multisectoral approach that includes social assistance and free healthcare access for people living with HIV and key populations. It has also prioritized peer- and community-led voluntary counselling and testing, adherence support and prevention services. To achieve and sustain epidemic control there must be continued investments, including increased domestic financial ownership of the response.

H.E. Prime Minister Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet thanked the United Nations for its support of Cambodia’s socio-economic development and expressed appreciation for UNAIDS’ active role in strengthening its HIV response. 

“When we talk about building human capital, we must pay attention to the health of the people,” he said.

Prime Minister Hun Manet stressed the importance of deepening this cooperation and partnership while announcing a new financial contribution to UNAIDS. 

“This contribution is symbolic of the importance Cambodia places on UNAIDS, the HIV response, and the multilateral system,” Ms Byanyima said. “It sends a signal to donors and to other Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries about the importance of continued investment in ending pandemics.”

In a meeting with the UNAIDS Executive Director, community representatives called for continued funding for people-centered strategies, as well as support to end stigma and discrimination. 

Ms Byanyima’s mission included a visit to the National Clinic for AIDS, Dermatology and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Phnom Penh. The clinic is a model for service integration and community-led care. Open seven days a week, it provides peer-led counseling, testing and treatment for HIV and sexually transmitted infections, non-communicable disease services, mental health screening and multiple pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) options. PrEP is the use of antiretroviral therapy by HIV-negative people to avoid contracting the virus if exposed.

In Siem Reap, Ms Byanyima joined the Health Action Coordinating Committee and Joint Forum of Networks of People Living with HIV and Key Populations awareness raising campaign on U=U (undetectable equals untransmittable). U=U refers to the scientific fact that people living with HIV who have an undetectable viral load through successful treatment have zero chance of passing the virus to a sexual partner. Cambodia has embraced this concept to not only increase treatment adherence but also stop stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV.

“HIV cannot harm us if we take our ARV medication correctly, regularly, and consistently,” said Sorn Vichheka, Coordinator of the Cambodian Community of Women Living with HIV at the U=U event. “When our viral load is undetectable, we cannot transmit the virus to our partners. This means we can live freely—we can dream, work, love, have families, and even have children, just like anyone else.”

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Em Ra disappears into the house twice, slipping past the shrine of flowers and incense by the front door. First, she brings out an old HIV magazine. She flips to a page of a small child, sitting on the back seat of a bike, looking straight into the camera. Next, she emerges with two framed photographs from a recent university graduation.  

The girl and the graduate are her daughter, Sorn Vichheka, twenty years apart. In 2005, the year the bicycle picture was taken, Vichheka started taking medicines. At first, she didn’t know why. When she was 12, she learned that she was born with HIV.   

“I am not sure when I accepted myself fully,” she says from her verandah in Meanchey, a commune to the south of Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. “It was gradual.”  

She looks out into a yard patrolled by chickens and surrounded by towering coconut trees. Under a shed in a nearby yard a baby sleeps in a hammock swung quickly back and forth by a string tied to its mother’s wrist. Vichheka’s sibling, who is HIV-negative, plays with the neighbours’ kids. They climb trees, dismounting onto the sides of concrete rainwater cisterns. 

She traces her evolution from child to advocate. As a girl her mother was already involved in the HIV movement. Today Ra remains a community action worker with the Antiretroviral Users Association (AUA), helping other people at their treatment site. But as a teen, Vichheka was afraid of being found out. 

“I started working for a company and did not disclose my status. At the same time, I was studying at the university. I was struggling with work and my studies, so I did not take my medicine regularly. Every time I went to the clinic co-workers would ask questions. They were curious to know what kind of health issue I had. I was very scared that people would know my HIV status,” she remembers. 

Stressed, she ended up resigning from the job and dropping out of school. She soon began volunteering with an HIV organization. There, peers explained the concept of U=U (undetectable equals untransmittable) more clearly. She grasped that HIV treatment could not only keep her  alive but make it impossible for her to pass the virus to others. 

She also understood more clearly the issues women living with HIV were facing. Half of the people living with HIV in Cambodia are women. Five percent of women report recent intimate partner violence. Many are petrified about disclosing their status. Then there is the balancing act of self-care, family responsibility and economic survival. 

“Some are housewives and need to take care of children so sometimes they don’t care much about their own health. Sometimes, because of the living conditions, they need to go to work to make an income to support the family. With this, they might miss some clinic appointments,” she explains.  

Vichheka says that government social protection programmes offering free healthcare, nutrition support and cash transfers for women living with HIV have been vital. Community-led care is also required. 

During the COVID-19 lockdowns when treatment access was interrupted, she joined the AUA. She participated in the community delivery of antiretrovirals for two years. After the project ended, she continued to volunteer. Between 2023 and 2024 Vichheka was driven, balancing volunteer work, daytime employment at an accounting company and evening study.  

In 2023, the Cambodian Community of Women Living with HIV (CCW) — an organization that had been founded in 2008 but lost its financing in 2017—  was revived thanks to small seed funding from UNAIDS for a U=U project.  

That year, the Cambodian Network of People Living with HIV (CPN+) and International Community of Women Living with HIV Asia Pacific (ICWAP) mentored CCW to engage in a UNAIDS-funded Global Fund Grant Cycle 7 project. They successfully mobilized funding for 2025-2026. Vichheka was among three Cambodian participants in ICWAP’s Feminist School Leadership Training.  

For the first time in over five years, CCW had a seat at the table. Vichheka was chosen by the members to be its coordinator.  

“We set up a peer support group of women living with HIV who come together, share experiences and motivate one other. CCW also provides psychosocial support and connects women with job opportunities. The Global Fund investment will expand this work while conducting leadership training to build capacity among sub-national coordinators,” Vichheka explains.  

Her leadership journey is a win against the odds. For her family it is also a full circle moment. 

“I am really proud to have such a kind mother, taking care of me since an early age, knowing that I was born with HIV. She protected me all the time from outside society and kept me motivated,” she says.   

Eswatini, a country once described as the epicentre of the HIV epidemic with nearly 1 in 3 adults living with HIV in 2015 [adult HIV prevalence in 2015 was 31%]. But Eswatini managed to turn around its HIV epidemic, reducing new HIV infections from a peak of 21 000 per year in 2000 to 4 000 in 2023, a remarkable result, achieved with the support of US funding. 

However, the sudden US funding cuts threaten to undo years of progress. We sat down with Nuha Ceesay, UNAIDS Country Director in Eswatini, to discuss the current situation, the impact on HIV services, and the way forward.

Q: How are US funding cuts impacting Eswatini’s HIV response? 

Eswatini’s HIV response has been a success story, by transforming a crisis that once saw extremely high HIV prevalence rates, into a model of resilience and opportunity. But the recent US funding cuts, representing about half of the country’s HIV response budget, have left the people living with and affected by HIV in despair, the government was not notified and left unprepared, and the people working to end AIDS are in total shock. There is real concern that new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths will rise, reversing years of hard-won progress. The cuts threaten not just HIV treatment and prevention, but also the broader health system improvements, data collection, jobs and empowerment of people living with HIV. 

Q: What disruptions are being seen on the ground? 

The effects are immediate and widespread. HIV testing services, the gateway to treatment, are now limited. With fewer people being tested, many may unknowingly be infected with HIV, missing the chance for early treatment and increasing the risk of further transmission. This could push annual new infections, which are currently around 4 000, even higher, and add pressure to already strained treatment resources. Stockouts of antiretroviral, lab test kits, and condoms are expected within months, and health worker layoffs are affecting service delivery and quality data collection. Primary prevention services, such as medicine to prevent HIV (PrEP), education campaigns, and voluntary medical male circumcision for HIV prevention (which is around 60% effective in preventing HIV) have also been scaled back or suspended. 

We are also seeing a stop of the DREAMS programme which is a major setback for adolescent girls and young women, who are disproportionately affected by HIV in Eswatini. DREAMS provided prevention education, skills, and socio-economic support to young women. Its termination leaves them more vulnerable to infection and strips away resources that have been central to empowering this high-risk group. HIV prevalence among young women and girls aged between 15 and 24 years was 70% higher than among young men in Eswatini in 2023. 

Read more about the impact on UNAIDS website 

Q: How is UNAIDS responding to these challenges? 

UNAIDS is working closely with the government and partners to continue the work of developing and implementing the HIV Sustainability Roadmap. This will help Eswatini’s HIV response to gradually shift from being reliant on international aid to increasing its domestic funding which will lead to the government taking full ownership of its HIV response. The first phase of this roadmap has already been launched, focusing on building resilience and long-term solutions. 

UNAIDS has also worked closely with the Ministry of Health and partners to map the impact of the funding cuts, identify service gaps, and strategize on mitigating disruptions. Collaboration with the Ministry of Health, UN partners, and civil society remains central, but the transition to sustainability is a complex and gradual process. 

Q: What’s your message to the international community? 

The successes that we celebrate in the HIV response are built on mutual accountability and global solidarity. That’s what enabled countries like Eswatini to shift the narrative-from a crisis by leading a response that brought down new HIV infection to 4 000 compared to when new infections were as high as 21 000. 

It is therefore devastating to see all the hard-won gains being reversed at this stage. This is the moment we need to come together in solidarity and in partnership to accelerate our collective efforts. 

Ending the epidemic is like a marathon. We have run the race many miles, but the end is what matters. If we cannot reach that finish line, it means we have not completed, and we cannot afford that. 

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Following the US stop work order in January, UNAIDS is working closely with governments and partners in affected countries to ensure that all people living with or affected by HIV continue to access life-saving services. 

For the latest updates, please visit unaids.org 

Q&A with UNAIDS Country Director in Burundi 

International aid is shrinking, and countries are increasingly burdened by the need to prioritize debt repayment over essential services, including healthcare. This shift has left vulnerable populations more exposed, with the abrupt funding cuts by the United States throwing the HIV response in many countries into chaos. Burundi, unfortunately, is no exception. Across the country, HIV services have faced severe disruptions. Clinics are reducing their services, staff are being laid off, and thousands of people living with HIV are at risk of losing access to critical treatment. 

In this interview, Marie Margarete Molnar, UNAIDS Country Director in Burundi, explains how communities are being affected, how the health system is coping, and what must happen next. 

Q: Can you describe the current funding landscape for Burundi’s HIV response? 

Burundi’s HIV response relies heavily on international aid - 95% of its funding comes from donors, with the US government contributing 51% through PEPFAR. This support sustained 10 major projects covering HIV prevention, treatment, and care for both the general population and vulnerable populations. PEPFAR also provided support to community-led monitoring projects and critical data system information. 

Q: How have the recent US funding cuts affected these programmes? 

Out of the 10 PEPFAR-funded projects, three were not eligible for the US waiver and had to stop operating. Some of the remaining seven, although eligible, could not resume their activities due to delays and financial uncertainty. As a result and based on an assessment conducted during the first month of the pause, at least 10 000 people living with HIV—who were among the 79 000 currently under treatment—have been directly affected. These individuals risk losing consistent access to medication and support services. In addition, 167 health professionals have lost their positions. These include doctors, nurses, psychologists, lab technicians, and community health workers—many of whom were directly providing HIV services. Financially, the immediate PEPFAR cut represents approximately US$ 6.5 million from the annual PEPFAR envelope of US$ 25 million for HIV in Burundi. 

Q: What does this mean in practical terms for people on the ground?

Burundi had almost reached the 2025 ambitious targets: 95% of people living with HIV who know their HIV status, of whom 95% are on treatment and of the people on treatment 95% are virally suppressed. This was the result of strong collaboration between the government, civil society organizations and partners. The country was even recognized with an award. But now the third 95, on viral suppression, is declining because some people can no longer access viral load testing or follow-up services. If the situation continues, there is a high risk of an increase in new infections and a weakening of the entire HIV response system. 

Q: What steps have the government and partners taken so far to respond to the crisis? 

The government and partners acted quickly. UNAIDS conducted consultations during the first two weeks of February with key stakeholders. These consultations identified the scale of the impact and led to a series of recommendations that were shared with the Government and partners. The Ministry of Health together with UNAIDS and WHO held a two-day workshop with the PEPFAR implementing partners and civil society to understand how the cuts affected budgets, staffing, services, and beneficiaries and to brainstorm on rapid mitigation measures. As instances, it was recommended carrying out field missions to visit treatment sites and assess how services were coping without US support, forming a crisis response group and developing a national contingency plan. The government also began to identify treatment sites facing ARV shortages and organized a drug quantification workshop after PEPFAR-supported partners could no longer lead it. 

Finalizing the HIV Sustainability Roadmap has also become a top priority. The roadmap is intended to guide how Burundi can finance and manage its HIV response without relying so heavily on external donors. We also discussed modeling different scenarios, from best case to worst case, based on whether funding returns or disappears entirely. These models would help us plan, reprioritize, and adapt strategies accordingly. We are also using the UNAIDS Rapid AIDS Financing Tool (RAFT) to get detailed data on how the funding cut is affecting commodities and staffing across the country. 

Q: Is the government prepared to increase its contribution to its national HIV efforts? 

It’s trying. Previously, funding for antiretroviral treatment was split between 76% from the Global Fund, 15% from the government, and 9% from PEPFAR. The government has now committed to covering partially that missing 9%. That shows political will. But it’s not just about medicine. It’s about health workers, community programmes and lab capacity. Burundi will need to restructure its approach by, for instance, integrating HIV into broader health and social protection systems, and significantly increase domestic health funding to reduce dependency, but this is difficult given the country's economic constraints. 

Q: What’s your message to the international community? 

Burundi is a fragile country facing multiple crises—economic instability, fuel shortages, emerging epidemics, and an influx of refugees from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. Despite these challenges, the country has made significant progress towards ending HIV, thanks to sustained investment in health including the HIV response. The risk now is losing these gains. Continued support from international partners is essential, not just for health but for the country’s overall development. At the same time, the Burundian government must increase its commitment to health funding. Only through global solidarity and strong political will can Burundi hope to end HIV by 2030. 

The global community must understand that this is more than a budget line. It’s about lives, stability and global health security. 

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Following the US stop work order in January, UNAIDS is working closely with governments and partners in affected countries to ensure that all people living with or affected by HIV continue to access life-saving services. For the latest updates, please visit unaids.org 

Community-led organizations are the backbone of the HIV response in many countries, providing access to HIV services for key populations, advocating for human rights and monitoring the HIV response. However, data collected by community-led organizations shows mass shut-downs of life-saving, peer-led services, significant – or total – budget cuts, staff lay-offs and rising levels of stigma, discrimination and mortality rates.   

Two new key population-led reports, one by Global Black Gay Men Connect (GBGMC) and another by the International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD), document the consequences of the US President’s Executive Order in January 2025 which froze all US foreign assistance. These reports highlight how services led by and for key populations are facing deep uncertainty about their future due to the funding cuts and loss of staff.

In its Frozen Out report, GBGMC found that 36% of partners supported by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) shut down within one week of the Executive Order. Another 19% said they could not operate beyond one month without renewed support. Similarly, INPUD’s report The Human Cost of Policy Shifts describes significant disruptions across harm reduction programmes. Nearly half (45%) of the organizations surveyed reported major budget losses, and one in four lost between 75% and 100% of their harm reduction programming. Critical services including peer-led outreach, HIV and hepatitis C testing, opioid agonist therapy, and overdose prevention have been disrupted. 

A cascading crisis 

The GBGMC report states that nearly 93% of key population-serving partners in Kenya reported experiencing full or partial service shutdowns. In Nigeria, every PEPFAR implementing partner providing services to key populations was reportedly affected. Across Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria, an estimated 2.2 million people have lost access to key population-focused HIV prevention services. 

The report also warns that even short-term interruptions can have life-threatening consequences. Each day, an estimated 200,000 people rely on receiving their HIV treatment through US government-funded sites. Interruptions risk treatment failure, HIV transmission and the emergence of resistance to HIV medicines. Prevention efforts are also at risk, with US government funding supporting nearly 90% of global pre-exposure prophylactic (PrEP) initiatives. 

“The PEPFAR funding freeze has led to the closure of numerous organizations and the disruption of essential HIV prevention services, leaving millions at risk. Immediate action is imperative to restore funding and protect key populations from further harm,” says Micheal Ighodaro, Executive Director of GBGMC 

Impacts on organizations led by people who use drugs 

INPUD’s report, The Human Cost of Policy Shifts, provides a detailed picture of how harm reduction services have been devastated by the US funding cuts. Based on a global rapid assessment of 101 respondents, the report reveals that nearly half lost between 26% and 100% of their harm reduction budgets, and 23% lost more than three-quarters of their funding.  

The most disrupted services included peer-led outreach (41%), legal and human rights support (36%), HIV testing (35%), services for women who use drugs (33%), and overdose prevention (25%). The consequences for individuals and communities have been severe. 47% of organizations reported that people are now going without harm reduction supplies such as sterile syringes and naloxone, and 46% said people are relying on underground or informal networks for access. 30% observed increases in overdose deaths. Additionally, 62% of organizations documented rising stigma and discrimination against people who use drugs. 

The report also highlights a particularly stark impact on women who use drugs. Of the 54 organizations that previously offered tailored services for women, 68% halted outreach, and over a third had to reduce or close services altogether.  

“While increasing overall funding is important, it is equally vital to ensure that organizations led by people who use drugs receive targeted support to run harm reduction services that effectively address their communities’ unique challenges and needs," says Anton Basenko, Executive Director of INPUD 

Heightened stigma and structural risks 

Even before the funding cuts, key populations faced legal and social barriers 
including criminalization, discrimination, and denial of services. According to reports gathered through UNAIDS’ dialogues with global and regional networks, these challenges are now intensifying. Community organizations have documented a rise in harassment, hate speech and healthcare discrimination. In some countries, specialized clinics are being “mainstreamed” into general health systems without adequate training or protections ensuring safe access. 

UNAIDS’ response and coordinated action 

Since February 2025, UNAIDS has been convening biweekly virtual dialogues with global key population networks, civil society advocates and international partners to share updates, raise concerns, and coordinate efforts to protect HIV services. At the regional level, UNAIDS is also convening with networks and joining forces to document the impact of funding disruptions and shape collective responses. These engagements have informed UNAIDS’ advocacy and programming supporting the launch of tools like the Rapid Action Financing Tool, strengthening country-level tracking through the UNAIDS impact portal (launched in early 2025) and amplifying community voices at global forums such as the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women and the Human Rights Council. Through continued collaboration with country teams, regional networks, and civil society, UNAIDS remains committed to co-creating solutions and prioritizing community-led responses. 

A call for urgent action 

GBGMC and INPUD urge governments, donors, and development partners to take immediate steps to: 

• Restore and increase funding for community-led and key population-focused services and establish dedicated funding streams for key population-led organizations   
• Establish pooled emergency funding mechanisms to sustain prevention and harm reduction
• Ensure meaningful community engagement in funding, service design, and legal reform
• Protect peer-led HIV services, which are grounded in principles of dignity, safety, and equitable access