Uganda earns UNAIDS recognition for expanding PrEP access despite funding cuts
The recognition comes in the 2026 UNAIDS Global AIDS Update, released at the 26th International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro, which warns that while scientific advances have put the world within reach of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, political decisions and shrinking donor support now threaten to reverse decades of progress.
The recognition comes in the 2026 UNAIDS Global AIDS Update, released at the 26th International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro. (Courtesy)
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RIO DE JANEIRO — Uganda has emerged among countries recognised by UNAIDS for expanding access to HIV prevention medicines despite the world's largest HIV response suffering its biggest international funding decline in nearly two decades.
The recognition comes in the 2026 UNAIDS Global AIDS Update, released at the 26th International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro, which warns that while scientific advances have put the world within reach of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, political decisions and shrinking donor support now threaten to reverse decades of progress.
According to the report, Uganda and Ethiopia were among the few countries that expanded access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) through domestic and alternative financing.
Meanwhile countries including: Cameroon, Nigeria and Zambia recorded declines of more than 50% in PrEP use following cuts in international assistance.
PrEP is a preventive medicine taken by HIV-negative people at substantial risk of infection to stop them acquiring the virus. The recognition comes as HIV prevention programmes across sub-Saharan Africa face mounting pressure following steep reductions in donor funding, particularly from the United States.
UNAIDS said HIV prevention accounted for just 11% of global HIV financing in 2024, with nearly 80% of prevention funding in sub-Saharan Africa coming from international aid, much of which has since been reduced.
The report says total global HIV resources fell from $18.8 billion (sh69.56 trillion) in 2024 to $17.6 billion (sh65.12 trillion) in 2025, while international financing dropped by 18% to $7.3 billion (sh27.01 trillion) marking the largest decline in almost twenty years.
During an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the AIDS conference, Uganda AIDS Commission Director of Planning Dr Vincent Bagambe said Uganda could not allow funding reductions to derail progress made in the HIV response.
"We are committed to increasing domestic financing for the HIV response while expanding access to all available PrEP options so that Ugandans who need prevention services continue receiving them," Bagambe said.
Government, he explained, was working with partners to diversify funding sources while integrating HIV services into the broader health system to improve long-term sustainability.
"We cannot depend on external financing forever. Government is increasing domestic investment because protecting the gains we have made against HIV is a national priority," he added.
Uganda, he stressed, remains committed to achieving the global 2030 targets despite the increasingly difficult financial environment.
"We shall continue investing in prevention, treatment and expanding every effective PrEP option available because prevention remains one of our strongest tools against HIV," he said.
The report warns that prevention programmes are among those hardest hit by recent funding cuts. A 2026 assessment covering 47 countries found community-led organisations had reduced PrEP and treatment support services by 50%, while services for gay men and other men who have sex with men declined by 85%, services for sex workers by 82%, and programmes supporting survivors of gender-based violence by 72%.
"For more than thirty years, communities, governments, scientists and health workers transformed what once seemed impossible. Science has done its job. Now politics must do its job," she said.
She said although 32.1 million people are now receiving life-saving HIV treatment, the highest number in history, 1.2 million people acquired HIV in 2025, 570,000 died from AIDS-related illnesses, while 8.9 million people still lacked treatment.
"Progress is not the same as victory. The world is no longer facing a future funding crisis. We are living through one now," Byanyima said.
The report also warns that shrinking civic space, increasing criminalisation of key populations and growing inequalities are making it harder for vulnerable communities to access HIV services.
Despite the setbacks, UNAIDS says new scientific innovations, including long-acting HIV prevention medicines such as twice-yearly Lenacapavir have created an unprecedented opportunity to end AIDS if governments ensure equitable access.
By the end of June 2026, more than 50,000 people had already received long-acting lenacapavir across nine African countries. The report notes that while global HIV infections have fallen by 65% since the epidemic's peak and AIDS-related deaths by 73%, progress is slowing, with new infections now rising in 21 countries.
Every week in 2025, around 3,000 adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa acquired HIV, while half of all new adult infections occurred among key populations and their sexual partners.
UNAIDS estimates that ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 will require $21.9 billion (sh81.03 trillion) annually, leaving the current global response facing a $4.3 billion (sh15.91 trillion) financing gap.