The science has never been better, but political will has reached a new low: AIDS experts warned Monday that the fight against HIV was in real danger as funding fell by a fifth last year.
A major international AIDS conference got underway in Rio de Janeiro for the first time since the United States began to dramatically slash foreign aid following Donald Trump’s return to the White House last year.
European nations including France, Germany and the UK followed suit.
“Never has donor funding fallen so far, so fast, and those most vulnerable are already paying the price,” said Beatriz Grinsztejn, president of the International AIDS Society (IAS), warning that the gathering was taking place at a time of “real danger” for the battle against HIV.
Once a fatal and terrifying diagnosis, scientific breakthroughs and massive funding efforts have transformed HIV into a manageable disease for millions of people.
