The head of UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima, has expressed concern over plans by the United States to withdraw HIV/AIDS funding for South Africa, urging Washington to reconsider the decision.
Byanyima warned that the move could endanger lives in South Africa, which has the world’s largest population of people living with HIV, while undermining decades of progress in combating the disease.
“I’m sad about that.
“Taking it away is taking away life-saving support from the most vulnerable people. So, that is sad. And I would ask the United States to reconsider their position,” Byanyima said.
U.S. President Donald Trump froze many foreign aid programmes early in his administration before restoring some life-saving assistance, including parts of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
Although South Africa funds its HIV treatment programme domestically, PEPFAR previously contributed more than 400 million dollars annually and supported the salaries of about 15,000 health workers.
Byanyima said South Africa has about eight million people living with HIV and noted that the U.S. programme had provided as much as 17 per cent of the country’s HIV funding.
She also expressed concern over declining global development assistance from traditional donor countries in Europe and North America, warning that the impact could be far-reaching.
“Please do not take money away because you are taking lives away. Have a planned transition,” she said.
Byanyima said that global efforts to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 had recorded significant gains, with 32.1 million of roughly 40 million people living with HIV receiving treatment.
However, she cautioned that progress remained fragile, citing UNAIDS data showing that nine million people still lacked treatment while 1.2 million people were newly infected in 2025.
According to her, recent funding reductions are already disrupting HIV services and could trigger a resurgence of infections in countries with high disease burdens.
She said HIV testing rates in high-prevalence countries had declined by 22 per cent, while some countries recorded a 90 per cent drop in condom distribution.
“We are seeing early signs of serious reversals in our progress… the trend that has been going down may now reverse and start rising,” she said.