UNAIDS Hails $5.88bn US Funding Boost for Global HIV Response

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has welcomed the enactment of a bipartisan United States spending law that commits US$5.88 billion to strengthen the global fight against HIV.

The funding package was signed into law on February 3, 2026 by US President Donald Trump and underscores continued US leadership in global health financing. Of the total amount, US$4.6 billion has been earmarked for bilateral HIV programmes under the America First Global Health Strategy, while US$1.25 billion will support the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. An additional US$45 million has been allocated directly to UNAIDS.

Executive Director of UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima, described the investment as critical to sustaining life-saving HIV services worldwide.

She said the funding would help millions of people in partner countries and ensure that the global HIV response remains effective, evidence-based and results-oriented.

The new law advances the America First Global Health Strategy, which prioritises progress towards the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets—ensuring that 95 per cent of people living with HIV know their status, 95 per cent of those diagnosed receive treatment, and 95 per cent of those on treatment achieve viral suppression. These targets are central to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

UNAIDS noted that US investments have played a leading role in the global HIV response for more than two decades, contributing to millions of lives saved and supporting countries to build stronger, more self-reliant HIV programmes.

The agency said it would use the new funding to provide data, technical expertise and strategic support to countries and communities most affected by HIV, working in close partnership with the US Government, the Global Fund and national stakeholders.

The United States has been a key partner of UNAIDS since the programme was established in 1996 and recently renewed its membership on the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board through 2028.

UNAIDS coordinates the efforts of 11 United Nations agencies and works with governments and partners worldwide to achieve zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths by 2030.