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KIGALI, RWANDA | Xinhua | Health experts are calling on governments around the world to increase funding for HIV research and community-led responses, warning that current funding cuts risk reversing decades of progress in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.
Speaking at the 13th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2025), former IAS President Sharon Lewin urged countries to prioritize investment in research.
“Governments need to step up on research. I hope that all of us can convey that message very strongly to our own governments,” she said.
Held in Kigali, Rwanda, the conference, themed “Breakthroughs Amid Crisis: The Future of HIV Innovation,” officially opened Monday, gathering over 4,000 participants, including global leaders, researchers, scientists, and civil society actors.
Solange Baptiste, executive director of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, stressed the vital role of community-led monitoring (CLM) in addressing often-overlooked gaps.
“CLM is critical to unmask the blind spots that ministries cannot see. The bigger fear right now is: how are we going to bounce back?” she said. “We need to fund big ideas. Let’s not be shy. Communities are experts. Let’s ensure there is space and investment for them to drive change.”
Baptiste also called for a shift in funding priorities: “The current cuts to global HIV/AIDS responses are an opportunity to change the system. Get the money to the community. Stop making technical excuses that prevent funds from reaching people on the ground.”
She emphasised that community systems continue to receive insufficient investment, and advocacy efforts often lack the necessary financial support, despite being grounded in a well-established methodology.
Philippe Duneton, executive director of Unitaid, a global health initiative hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO), emphasized the gravity of the situation: “People don’t know if tomorrow they will have access to their medicines, or if their children will.”
“We are facing not just a crisis in funding, but a crisis in leadership,” he said, reaffirming Unitaid’s commitment to supporting communities, especially children, who are central to the HIV response.
Francisco Mbofana, executive secretary of Mozambique’s National AIDS Council, highlighted the difficult funding choices now facing governments.
“We had money. We used to do everything,” he said.”Now, we have to decide what is most important to reach our objectives.”
Yogan Pillay, director for HIV and Tuberculosis (TB) Delivery at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, acknowledged the severity of the crisis but noted emerging leadership and innovation at the national level.
“This is a real crisis, but countries are stepping up with more leadership, domestic financing, and innovation,” he said. “I don’t think we should adapt to this ‘new normal.’ We need to be transformative.”
“But the abruptness of the cuts, and the uncertainty that followed, has led to panic,” Pillay noted.
South African Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi said over 75 percent of South Africa’s HIV response is funded domestically, and the country has put in place new national strategies to address the shortfall.
The IAS Conference on HIV Science is widely recognized as the world’s most influential meeting on HIV research and its application.
This year’s edition, which runs through Thursday, features hundreds of sessions focused on turning scientific breakthroughs into practical solutions, particularly in regions most affected by HIV.
According to the WHO, HIV remains a major global public health issue, having claimed an estimated 44.1 million lives to date.
At the end of 2024, about 40.8 million people were living with HIV, with 65 percent in the WHO African Region.
Last year, an estimated 630,000 people died from HIV-related causes, while 1.3 million acquired the virus. ■
