World AIDS Day 2025: WHO warns of funding threats, urges Africa to transform HIV response

As the global community marks World AIDS Day 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for renewed urgency and collective action to end AIDS in Africa.

In a statement, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Mohamed Janabi, warns that funding disruptions and shifting global priorities are threatening decades of progress in the fight against HIV, but emphasises that Africa has both the resilience and the capacity to overcome the challenge.

“This year’s theme, “Overcoming Disruption: Transforming the AIDS Response,” reflects the need to rethink HIV strategies amid reduced funding and emerging threats to public health systems.”

Dr. Janabi added that the changing landscape was challenging but had presented an opportunity for countries to strengthen self-reliant, integrated, and people-centered healthcare systems.

“Across the region, many nations are embedding HIV testing, treatment, and prevention within primary healthcare, ensuring continuity of care even during crises,” he stated.

He highlighted the importance of accelerating access to innovation, particularly long-acting HIV prevention tools such as Lenacapavir, which requires only two injections per year.

Dr. Janabi also underscored the critical need to defend scientific integrity. He warned that misinformation poses a serious threat to public health and praised youth-led community networks that used platforms like WhatsApp and local radio to spread reliable information and encourage treatment adherence during recent crises.

He noted that despite ongoing challenges, Africa has made significant progress, with new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths falling by more than 50% since 2010, and 21.7 million people now receiving lifesaving antiretroviral therapy.

However, Dr. Janabi cautioned that progress remained fragile. He urged governments and partners to invest in sustainable, locally-driven HIV programs, strengthen health systems, protect marginalized populations, tackle stigma and misinformation, and confront deep-seated inequalities that continue to fuel the epidemic.