The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that cuts in international funding could reverse decades of progress in the fight against HIV across Africa, with Nigeria among countries most at risk due to its heavy reliance on donor support for prevention, testing and treatment programmes.
The warning is contained in WHO’s latest assessment of the Global Health Sector Strategies on HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), released on Monday during the 26th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2026).
The report said that although global HIV infections have dropped by 42 per cent and AIDS-related deaths by 57 per cent since 2010, about nine million people worldwide are still without life-saving treatment, while funding disruptions recorded in 2025 have already affected prevention services in several countries.
WHO noted that access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a key medicine used to prevent HIV infection, declined in some countries following reductions in donor funding, despite efforts by governments to sustain services.
For Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and one of the countries with the highest HIV burden globally, the development raises concerns over the sustainability of programmes that have depended largely on international partners.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said years of progress could be wiped out if governments and development partners fail to sustain investments in healthcare.
“This report tells two stories. It demonstrates what is possible when countries invest in health, communities and science. But it also shows how quickly progress can be undone with funding disruptions, humanitarian emergencies and persistent inequalities,” he said.
The report also identified viral hepatitis as an increasing public health threat, despite improvements in prevention and treatment.
According to WHO, hepatitis B infections have fallen by 32 per cent since 2015, while deaths linked to hepatitis C have declined by 12 per cent. However, viral hepatitis still claimed an estimated 1.3 million lives globally in 2024, with hepatitis B-related deaths rising by 17 per cent over the same period.
Nigeria is among countries with a high burden of hepatitis B, but experts say low testing rates and limited access to treatment continue to fuel preventable deaths from liver disease.
The global health agency further warned that sexually transmitted infections remain a growing concern, citing rising infection rates and increasing resistance to antibiotics used to treat gonorrhoea.
To prevent setbacks, WHO urged countries to strengthen domestic financing for HIV, hepatitis and STI programmes, integrate disease services into primary healthcare, improve surveillance systems and expand access to innovative prevention tools, including the newly recommended twice-yearly injectable lenacapavir for HIV prevention.
WHO’s Director of HIV, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis and STIs, Dr Tereza Kasaeva, described the report as a roadmap for countries to accelerate action towards ending the three epidemics by 2030.
The report comes as governments, including Nigeria, face increasing pressure to bridge funding gaps created by declining international health assistance while sustaining progress towards the global target of ending HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections as public health threats.
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