Since the start of 2025, the global HIV response has been gravely impacted by the collapse of USAID’s global health programmes and the suspension of funding by the United States to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has saved some 26 million lives over the past two decades. New policies are directly targeting people at risk of acquiring HIV and more than 20 million people are in danger of losing access to life-saving medication. The African region holds the largest burden of HIV worldwide and has been hardest hit by these policy shifts and funding cuts.
This special session will address the future of the HIV response in Africa and beyond. The starting point will be changes in HIV service delivery introduced by African countries with different epidemic profiles and levels of prior dependency on US funding for their HIV response in reaction to the sudden funding gaps. Representatives of Ministries of Health will be joined by representatives of community, public and philanthropic donors to address three key questions: How will existing coordination structures at country, regional and global level be impacted in the short- and long-term? With countries leading, what should donors fund for maximum impact going forward? Which - innovative - funding models are feasible? How will the role of community evolve to ensure that national governments, international leaders and donors act to meet the needs of people living with and affected by HIV?
