UNAIDS: AIDS Pandemic Can End by 2030 with Urgent Action
Mitchell Dzoro
A recent UNAIDS report reveals that decisive actions taken by global leaders this year could determine the end of the AIDS pandemic by 2030.
The report, titled “The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads,” emphasizes that while the world has made significant strides in combating HIV/AIDS, it remains off track in meeting crucial targets.
The report compiles recent data and case studies, highlighting the current challenges in curbing the virus. In a statement, UNAIDS emphasized the critical situation: “While the end of AIDS is within our grasp this decade, the world is currently off track. Globally, of the 39.9 million people living with HIV, 9.3 million—nearly a quarter—are not receiving life-saving treatment. Consequently, a person dies from AIDS-related causes every minute.”
“Leaders pledged to reduce annual new infections to below 370,000 by 2025, but new HIV infections are still more than three times higher, at 1.3 million in 2023. Now, cuts in resourcing and a rising anti-rights push are endangering the progress made,” the statement continued.
The UNAIDS report indicates that the choices made by global leaders this year will significantly impact the future of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Bold actions to secure adequate and sustainable funding and protect human rights could stabilize the number of people living with HIV requiring lifelong treatment at around 29 million by 2050. Conversely, inaction could see that number surge to 46 million, up from 39.9 million in 2023.
UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima stated, “World leaders pledged to end the AIDS pandemic as a public health threat by 2030. They can uphold this promise, but only if they ensure that the HIV response has the resources it needs and that the human rights of everyone are protected. Leaders can save millions of lives, prevent millions of new HIV infections, and ensure that everyone living with HIV can live healthy, full lives.”
The report also highlighted significant progress in expanding access to HIV treatment, with 30.7 million people now on life-saving medicines—over three-quarters of those living with HIV. This expansion has helped halve AIDS-related deaths since 2010, from 1.3 million to 630,000 in 2023, marking a landmark public health achievement.
However, the report stressed that HIV prevention and treatment services will only be effective if human rights are upheld. Stigma and discrimination remain significant barriers, preventing many, particularly women, from accessing essential prevention services.
“Gender inequality exacerbates the risks faced by girls and women and drives the pandemic. HIV incidence among adolescent girls and young women remains extraordinarily high in parts of eastern, southern, western, and central Africa,”
“Stigma and discrimination against marginalized communities create barriers to vital prevention and treatment services. Key populations, including sex workers, men who have sex with men, and people who inject drugs, now represent 55% of new infections globally, up from 45% in 2010,” the statement added.
While new HIV infections have fallen by 39% globally and by 59% in eastern and southern Africa since 2010, the report warns that progress is uneven, with infections rising in regions such as the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.