WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Foreign aid cuts by Western governments could lead to over 10 million additional HIV infections and nearly 3 million deaths by the end of the decade, according to a new study published in The Lancet HIV.
The research, conducted by a team from the Burnet Institute in Melbourne, Australia, and the World Health Organization's (WHO) Department of Global HIV, Hepatitis, and STIs Programs, highlighted the critical role international funding has played in reducing HIV transmission and deaths worldwide.
The study warned that five major donor countries-the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, and the Netherlands, are planning significant cuts to foreign aid between 2025 and 2026, reducing contributions by 8 percent to 70 percent. These nations collectively provide more than 90 percent of global HIV funding.
The U.S., in particular, has scaled back funding through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), impacting HIV treatment and prevention programs. PEPFAR (the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), a key initiative in the global fight against HIV, is also at risk.
Using mathematical models, researchers analyzed the effects of aid reductions in 26 countries across Latin America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Projections showed that sub-Saharan Africa and marginalized populations including people who inject drugs, sex workers, men who have sex with men and children would face the most severe consequences.
The study estimated that cuts to HIV prevention and treatment programs could result in 4.4 to 10.8 million additional new infections, a 1.3- to six-fold increase among high-risk groups. It also predicts 770,000 to 2.9 million HIV-related deaths globally.
'There could be an even greater impact in sub-Saharan Africa, where broader prevention efforts, such as distributing condoms and offering pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) are at first risk to be discontinued,' co-lead study author Dr. Rowan Martin-Hughes of the Burnet Institute said in a statement.
'This, is in addition to disruptions in testing and treatment programs, could cause a surge in new HIV infections, especially in some of the areas where the greatest gains have been made, such as preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV and pediatric HIV deaths.'
The findings underscored the urgent need to maintain global investment in HIV programs to prevent a devastating resurgence of the epidemic.
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