The fight against HIV in Nigeria has suffered a major setback as condom distribution across the country dropped dramatically by 55 percent between December 2024 and March 2025, according to alarming new data from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
Global Funding Crisis Hits Nigeria Hard
The shocking figures were released on Tuesday, November 26, 2025, as part of UNAIDS' World AIDS Day report titled Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response. The report highlights what the agency describes as widespread interruptions to prevention, testing and community-based programmes across dozens of countries worldwide.
UNAIDS directly links the crisis to major cuts in international HIV programmes following Donald Trump's return to the White House. The organization reported that an uncountable number of additional deaths have occurred globally and 2.5 million people have lost access to HIV-preventive medication due to these funding reductions.
"Persistent funding shortfalls and the perilous risks facing the global HIV response are having profound, lasting effects on the health and well-being of millions of people throughout the world," the report stated.
Immediate Impact on Nigerian Communities
For countries like Nigeria that rely heavily on donor support to sustain prevention and treatment infrastructure, UNAIDS said the impact has been "immediate and severe." Several of the organization's community partners reported deaths among people living with HIV due to the closure of clinics and disrupted treatment services.
The agency noted that the exact number of additional deaths remains unknown as data collection continues, but the situation appears dire for many vulnerable communities.
The global AIDS response entered "crisis mode" earlier this year when the United States, which previously provided 75 percent of international HIV funding, temporarily halted all HIV-related funding. Other donor countries also sharply reduced foreign aid after pressure from Trump to prioritise defence spending.
Although some programmes have resumed under the U.S. PEPFAR initiative, UNAIDS warned that overall global funding continues to fall, jeopardising the goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Alarming Statistics and Regional Comparisons
UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima told reporters in Geneva that the organisation is working with at least 30 countries to improve domestic HIV financing. She emphasized that this could not close the funding gap immediately, adding that major challenges persist.
The agency revealed that 40.8 million people are living with HIV worldwide, with 1.3 million new infections recorded in 2024. As of October 2025, UNAIDS estimated that 2.5 million people had lost access to PrEP, the preventive HIV medication, due to donor cutbacks.
Other countries facing similar challenges include Uganda, where distribution of preventive HIV medicines declined by 31 percent, Vietnam with a 21 percent drop, and Burundi experiencing a massive 64 percent reduction.
A UNAIDS and ATHENA Network survey conducted this year found that almost half of women and adolescent girls had experienced disruptions to HIV prevention or treatment services in their communities.
While global HIV infections dropped by 39 percent in 2023 compared to 2010, with sub-Saharan Africa seeing a 56 percent reduction, UNAIDS noted that 1.3 million people still acquired HIV in 2023, far above the 2025 target of fewer than 370,000.
Condom Use Decline and Funding Shortfalls
The report expressed particular concern over declining condom use despite condoms remaining "the most effective low-cost HIV prevention method." UNAIDS said condom programmes and social marketing initiatives had been defunded in many countries.
Survey data indicates declining condom use, especially among young people aged 15 to 24, with condom use during sex with non-regular partners now described as "highly infrequent." The report revealed that only about 36% of adults in eastern and southern Africa and 25% in western and central Africa used a condom at last sex.
In 2023, only US$19.8 billion was available for HIV programmes in low and middle-income countries, almost US$9.5 billion short of what will be needed in 2025. Adjusted for inflation, HIV funding is now at its lowest point in over a decade, with domestic funding declining for the fourth consecutive year and international funding nearly 20 percent below its 2013 peak.
UNAIDS said the reductions would have been even worse without the Global Fund and continued U.S. government support, but warned that development assistance for HIV will continue to be crucial.
The agency emphasized that "the continued underfunding of HIV prevention, societal enabler programmes, and community-led activities does not bode well for the HIV response. Interventions for people from key populations are especially neglected, even in regions where the vast majority of new HIV infections occur in people from these populations."
Only US$1.8 to 2.4 billion was available globally for primary prevention programmes in 2023, compared with the US$9.5 billion required in 2025.
UNAIDS urged world leaders to recommit politically and financially to ending AIDS, referring to pledges made at the recent G20 summit in South Africa. The agency also called for increased investment in innovations, including affordable long-acting prevention medications, and emphasized the need to strengthen human rights protections and community-led approaches as essential components of an effective global HIV response.
