Trump stopped the global fight against HIV/AIDS in its tracks. Canada can help fix it – CBC

‘A global problem needs a global solution,’ says UNAIDS director

Jul 10, 2025

Winnie Byanyima is trying to hold onto hope in the face of what she calls unbelievable cruelty.

She is the director of UNAIDS, the United Nations agency that, until recently, was on track to meet its target of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

But now, as President Donald Trump’s second administration rapidly and dramatically scales back U.S. foreign aid contributions, UNAIDS is instead predicting in a new report that there will be six million new HIV infections and four million additional deaths within the next four years alone.

“It’s just so cruel,” Byanyima told As It Happens host Nil Kӧksal. “It was not necessary to withdraw funding for life-saving services so suddenly.”

But these dire predictions, she says, are not set in stone. The fight against HIV/AIDS can get back on track if the international community, including Canada, steps up.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/unaids-report-1.7581265