UN News Today 10 July 2025 |

Funding cuts to HIV services put millions of lives at risk

Large-scale funding cuts on the part of international donors such as the United States are threatening to unravel decades of progress in the global response to HIV.

The warning comes from UNAIDS which on Thursday released its 2025 Global AIDS Update.

The UN agency’s report says funding shortfalls this year have resulted in widespread disruption across health systems and cuts to frontline health workers, affecting HIV prevention programmes and treatment services.

At the same time, a rise in punitive laws criminalising same-sex relationships and drug use, for example, is also affecting access to services.

UNAIDS estimates that if US-supported HIV treatment and prevention services collapse entirely, an additional six million new HIV infections and four million additional AIDS-related deaths could occur between now and 2029.

Agency chief Winnie Byanyima described the situation as “not just a funding gap” but “a ticking time bomb.”

While the report highlights the impact funding cuts are having on countries most affected by HIV, it also showcases examples of countries and communities stepping up to protect gains made to date and to drive response forward.

UNAIDS stressed, however, that the global HIV response cannot rely on domestic resources alone and the international community must bridge the financing gap.

Ukraine recovery ‘more than just returning home’: IOM chief

World leaders gathered in Rome on Thursday for the annual conference to support recovery and reconstruction in Ukraine.

Although Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country is now in its fourth year, millions have begun returning despite the ongoing insecurity and economic pressures.

Data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) shows that more than four million people have returned to their communities of origin, including over a million who came back from abroad.

IOM chief Amy Pope, who is at the two-day conference, noted that “displacement on this scale imposes numerous challenges for Ukraine and its people.”

She said, “recovery must begin with a focus on the people in need – connecting them to services and restoring their livelihoods.”

This way “it becomes more than just returning home,” and more widely about “regaining their place in society.”

IOM has remained a key partner in Ukraine where its work includes supporting the reintegration of internally displaced persons and engaging diaspora communities to help shape solutions that support long-term recovery.

Ukraine civilian casualties at a three-year high: UN rights experts

Meanwhile,

Civilian casualties in Ukraine reached a three-year high in June, with 232 people killed and 1,343 injured.

That information comes from the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, which noted that Russia launched ten times more missile and munitions attacks last month than in June 2024, with virtually no region spared.

Numerous cities in Ukraine are still coming under repeated waves of attacks this month, the rights monitors said on Thursday.

An overnight strike mainly targeting the capital, Kyiv, killed two people and injured at least 16.  Russia reportedly deployed nearly 400 Shahed so-called loitering munitions and decoy drones, along with 18 high-powered missiles.

The rights monitors said the figures for June confirmed this year’s worsening trend. Some 6,754 civilians were killed or injured in the first half of 2025 – a 54 per cent rise from the corresponding period in 2024.

Overall, the past six months saw a 17 per cent increase in civilian deaths and a 64 per cent rise in injuries, they reported.

Dianne Penn, UN News

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