The United Nations has warned that decades of progress in combating AIDS are being undermined by the fallout from the U.S. Donald Trump administration's reduction in foreign aid.

In a report released on the 27th local time, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) stated, "The international community is facing a profound political and financial upheaval that threatens hard-won progress achieved over decades to eradicate HIV."

It added, "Without renewed political will and action, the world faces the risk of a resurgence of the HIV epidemic."

According to the report, global international HIV funding for 2025 dropped 18% from the previous year to 7.3 billion dollars (approx. 10.7 trillion won), marking the lowest level in 20 years.

The United States has long been the largest donor, shouldering about 75% of international HIV assistance.

However, shortly after returning to the White House in January of last year, President Trump ordered a temporary halt to all HIV-related foreign assistance. While life-sustaining treatment programs were later resumed, a significant number of prevention programs were scaled back.

The UN explained that as the U.S. cut support, governments in various countries increased their own health budgets, limiting the overall decline in 2025 HIV response funding to around 6%.

However, low-income countries have been unable to fill the financial gaps on their own.

Notably, in sub-Saharan Africa, where roughly half of all new global HIV infections occur, prevention program budgets have seen sharp cuts.

In Cameroon, Nigeria, and Zambia, the number of users relying on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)—antiretroviral drugs used to proactively block the risk of HIV infection—dropped by more than 50%.

UNAIDS pointed out that cuts to foreign aid are severely impacting prevention, testing, and treatment programs, as well as community-based services targeting vulnerable populations.

It also stressed that the global goal of ending AIDS by 2030 is veering off track, noting that declining funding and other crises such as Ebola are hampering these efforts.

An estimated 1.2 million people were infected with HIV last year.

(Photo: Yonhap News TV capture, Yonhap News)