Funding Gaps Could Cost Lives As IAS Urges Urgent Action On Global HIV Response
At a time when science has delivered the tools to end AIDS, money, not medicine, is fast becoming the most dangerous gap.
That was the stark warning from the President of the International AIDS Society, (IAS), Beatriz Grinsztejn, as she sounded the alarm over shortfalls in the Global Fund’s replenishment drive, cautioning that every uncommitted dollar now carries a human cost.
Grinsztejn said each funding gap represents lives that could have been saved but may now be lost, especially in low- and middle-income countries carrying the heaviest HIV burden.
According to her, nations already grappling with fragile health systems are being pushed into painful decisions about who receives life-saving treatment and who is left behind.
“In this challenging year for global health, countries that bear the heaviest HIV burden are being forced to make difficult choices,” she said, stressing that shrinking resources are narrowing access to essential services, prevention tools and new technologies.
The IAS President emphasised that the situation is not beyond rescue.
She noted that donors still have an opportunity to pledge funds for the 2027-2029 Global Fund cycle, which she described as critical to sustaining HIV services and scaling up the latest innovations.
Grinsztejn urged governments, the private sector and philanthropic organisations to act with urgency, warning that delayed commitments could reverse hard-won gains in the global HIV response.
Her message here is clear, while science exists to save lives, it is political will and timely funding that will determine who benefits and who does not.
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