Pakistan, July 29 -- That the international financing for HIV fell by 18 per cent in 2025, from $8.8 billion to $7.3 billion, its lowest level in nearly two decades, has been lamented by UNAIDS as a potential reversal of the progress that drove down new infections and AIDS-related deaths to their lowest level in more than 30 years.

The scale of the unfinished task makes the decline indefensible. An estimated 41 million people were living with HIV in 2025, 1.2 million acquired the virus, and 570,000 died from AIDS-related illnesses. Although treatment reached 32.1 million people, nearly nine million remained without it, while almost half of all children living with HIV still lacked antiretroviral therapy. Total resources available in low-...