World AIDS Day 2025: Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response – emro.who.int

Report on the State of the Global AIDS Response and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Commemoration of World AIDS Day 2025

On December 1, 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with global partners, observed World AIDS Day in Cairo, Egypt. The theme, “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response,” highlights the critical juncture in the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, a key target under Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3): Good Health and Well-being.

Global and Regional HIV/AIDS Status: A Challenge to SDG 3.3

Global Overview

• Estimated number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) worldwide: 40.8 million.

Focus on the Eastern Mediterranean Region

The Eastern Mediterranean Region faces significant challenges that threaten the achievement of SDG 3.3 (end the epidemics of AIDS). The situation is characterized by:

• An estimated 610,000 PLHIV.
• A near doubling of annual new infections, from 37,000 in 2016 to 72,000 in 2024.
• Critically low diagnosis rates, with fewer than four in ten individuals aware of their HIV status.
• Insufficient treatment coverage, with less than one-third of PLHIV receiving necessary care.

Barriers to Progress on Health and Equality Goals (SDG 3 & SDG 10)

Several interconnected factors are undermining decades of progress and jeopardizing the 2030 targets. These barriers impact not only health outcomes (SDG 3) but also perpetuate inequality (SDG 10).

Financial and Systemic Challenges

• Declining Funding: Both external and domestic funding dedicated to HIV programs are diminishing, threatening the sustainability of essential services.
• Service Disruption: HIV services are increasingly disrupted, particularly in regions affected by fragility and conflict, which contravenes the principles of SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
• Deprioritization of Community Services: Community-led initiatives, which are vital for reaching marginalized and vulnerable populations, are being underfunded and deprioritized.

Social and Structural Obstacles

• Stigma and Discrimination: Pervasive stigma and discrimination remain major obstacles to HIV prevention, testing, and treatment.
• Punitive Laws: Legal frameworks that penalize key populations create significant barriers to accessing care and support services, directly impacting SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

WHO Strategic Recommendations for Achieving the 2030 Agenda

To realign with the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic, the WHO has issued a call to action for governments and partners, emphasizing integration, investment, and innovation.

Key Policy and Programmatic Actions

1. Increase Domestic Investment: Governments must elevate HIV on national health agendas and commit to substantial increases in domestic funding to ensure a sustainable response.
2. Integrate HIV Services: HIV care must be fully integrated into broader health systems to provide comprehensive, people-centered care.
3. Embrace Innovation: Scale up innovative service delivery models, including the use of digital health and AI, to improve prevention and outreach.
4. Expand Community-Led Programs: Strengthen and expand prevention, harm reduction, and community engagement programs to effectively reach all populations.
5. Enhance Surveillance and Monitoring: Improve data collection and analysis to enable more targeted and effective HIV responses.

As stated by WHO Regional Director Dr. Hanan Balkhy, this comprehensive approach, built on partnerships (SDG 17), is essential to build a “stronger, fairer AIDS response for everyone, everywhere.” Without urgent and scaled-up action, the number of new infections and deaths will rise, placing greater strain on health systems and ensuring the failure to meet the 2030 SDG target.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

  This is the primary SDG addressed in the article. The entire text focuses on the global and regional response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, discussing health services, treatment, prevention, and the overarching goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat. The article explicitly mentions the “goal of ending AIDS by 2030,” which is a key component of this SDG.

• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

  The article connects to this SDG by highlighting the barriers faced by specific groups. It states that “stigma, discrimination, punitive laws and the lack of community-based services continue to represent major obstacles to prevention, testing and care.” It also notes that community-led services are “vital to reaching marginalized populations,” implying that inequality is a significant challenge in the HIV response.

• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

  This SDG is relevant due to the article’s strong emphasis on funding and investment. It points out that “Funding dedicated towards HIV is declining,” “HIV programmes continue to rely heavily on shrinking external funds,” and “Domestic investments remain woefully inadequate.” The call for governments to “increase national investments” and for a sustained global response speaks directly to the need for financial partnerships and resource mobilization to achieve health goals.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 3.3: End the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases

  The article is centered on this target. It repeatedly mentions the “goal of ending AIDS by 2030” and warns that without urgent action, this goal “will be missed.” The entire discussion about increasing new infections, improving treatment access, and scaling up the response is framed within the context of achieving this specific target.

• Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all

  The article directly addresses the components of this target by highlighting gaps in healthcare access. It states that in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, “fewer than 4 in 10 know their status, and less than a third are receiving treatment.” The call to “fully integrating HIV services into health programmes” and deliver “comprehensive, people-centred care” is a call for universal health coverage in the context of HIV.

• Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices

  This target is identified through the article’s mention of the key barriers to HIV services. The text specifies that “stigma, discrimination, punitive laws” are major obstacles. Tackling these structural barriers is essential to ensuring that marginalized populations have equal access to prevention, testing, and care, thereby reducing inequalities of health outcomes.

• Target 17.2: Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments… and to encourage ODA flows… to countries where the need is greatest

  This target is implied through the discussion of funding challenges. The article notes that “HIV programmes continue to rely heavily on shrinking external funds.” This points to a gap in international financial support (Official Development Assistance – ODA) and highlights the need for sustained and increased investment from both external partners and domestic governments to manage the epidemic.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Number of new HIV infections

  This is a direct indicator for Target 3.3. The article explicitly provides data for this, stating that in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, “the number of annually estimated new infections has almost doubled in less than a decade, rising from 37 000 in 2016 to 72 000 in 2024.” This metric is used to show that progress is reversing.

• HIV Prevalence

  The article provides prevalence data, which is a background indicator for the scale of the epidemic. It states there are “an estimated 40.8 million people living with HIV (PLHIV) around the world, 610 000 of whom live in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.”

• Knowledge of HIV status

  This is an implied indicator for Target 3.8 (access to services, specifically diagnostics). The article provides a clear metric: “fewer than 4 in 10 know their status” in the region. This measures the effectiveness of testing programmes.

• Antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage

  This is another implied indicator for Target 3.8 (access to essential medicines and treatment). The article states that “less than a third are receiving treatment” in the region, directly measuring the gap in treatment access.

• Funding for HIV response

  This is an implied indicator for Target 17.2. The article repeatedly mentions funding as a critical issue, noting that “Funding dedicated towards HIV is declining,” “shrinking external funds,” and “Domestic investments remain woefully inadequate.” Tracking these financial flows serves as a key indicator of commitment and resource mobilization.

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article.

Source: emro.who.int