The executive director of Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS, Winnie Byanyima, warned in New York that the sudden funding decline was hitting the HIV response “like a shock wave”.
UNAIDS, the UN agency leading the global effort to end HIV/AIDS worldwide, gave the commendation in a statement on Thursday.
Launching its 2025 World AIDS Day report, Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response, UNAIDS warned that the global HIV response is facing its worst setback in decades.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS says the world can still end the scourge of HIV and AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Globally, 39.9 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2023.
“The attacks on rights are a threat to freedom and democracy and harmful to health.’’
The International Community of Women Living with HIV, West Africa, UNAIDS and others have advocated for more investment and collaboration to end Violence against Women and Girls.
The commissioner said the state was also scaling up access to HIV self-testing to tackle stigma and discrimination.
The number of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in Fiji has surged by 260 per cent since 2010.
Mr Musoba said the country’s HIV/AIDS funding gap had grown to US$272.66 million in 2019/20 from US$82.96 million in 2016/17.
