African Women Leaders Warn Against Sunsetting UNAIDS: “AIDS IS Not Over”

African women leaders and community advocates have issued a strong warning against any discussion or proposal to sunset the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), stressing that the AIDS epidemic remains far from over.

In a statement released by the African Women’s Prevention Community Accountability Board (AWPCAB), leaders highlighted that HIV continues to pose a major public health and human rights challenge across Africa, particularly for women, adolescent girls, and key populations. Despite advances in HIV prevention and treatment, new infections persist, inequalities remain entrenched, and community-led prevention efforts are still underfunded.

AWPCAB emphasised that UNAIDS remains critical for global coordination, political accountability, and ensuring that the voices of communities most affected by HIV - especially African women - are represented in decision-making spaces. Any move to weaken or dismantle UNAIDS at this stage risks reversing hard-won gains in the HIV response.

The statement further noted that adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa continue to account for a disproportionate share of new HIV infections, driven by structural inequalities, gender-based violence, stigma, and limited access to comprehensive prevention options. Leaders stressed that discussions of sunsetting UNAIDS ignore these lived realities.

AWPCAB and its partners are calling on governments, donors, UN Member States, and multilateral institutions to reaffirm their commitment to UNAIDS, reject any proposals to sunset its mandate, and ensure sustained financing for HIV prevention, treatment, and community-led accountability mechanisms.

Read the full press release here.