AIDS can end by 2030 if world leaders make the right decisions now, UNAIDS says

Insufficient funding for countries to fight AIDS threatens the goal of ending the epidemic by 2030. This is stated in the report of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), published in Geneva.

It is noted that in 2023, 1.3 million new cases of AIDS and 630 thousand resultant deaths were registered in the world.

The decisions and political choices of world leaders this year will determine the fate of millions of lives and the ability to overcome the world's deadliest epidemic, UNAIDS said.

Countries have pledged to reduce the number of new AIDS cases to below 370,000 by 2025, but in 2023 the number was 1.3 million.

Also, AIDS resultant deaths have halved since 2010, from 1.3 million to 630,000 cases in 2023. However, it is not enough to reach the target of 250,000 cases in 2025.

The aforesaid report highlights that funding for HIV/AIDS efforts is declining around the world, limiting progress and even causing epidemics to grow in some regions.

In 2023, 19.8 billion US dollars were allocated for these purposes, which is 5 percent less than the figure for 2022.

The debt crisis in low- and middle-income countries is exacerbating the situation, reducing funding for the fight against HIV/AIDS for the fourth year in a row.

Of the 39.9 million people living with HIV/AIDS, 9.3 million are not receiving the treatment they need.

World leaders have committed to ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030, and they can only keep their promise if they provide the necessary resources and protect the rights of all, said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS.

With adequate and sustainable funding, the number of people living with HIV and requiring lifelong treatment will reach an estimated 29 million by 2050. Otherwise, this number can reach 46 million against 39.9 million in 2023, stress the authors of the aforementioned report.

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter