WHO: 1.2 Million People Contracted HIV in 2025 Despite Global Progress

About 1.2 million people acquired HIV worldwide in 2025, despite major gains in prevention and treatment over the past two decades, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a new mid-term progress report released on Wednesday.

The figure was published in the Global Health Sector Strategies on HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections 2022–2030: 2026 Mid-term Progress Report, which assesses progress toward the global goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

According to the WHO, the 2025 infections brought the total number of people living with HIV globally to 41 million, with 64 percent residing in the WHO African Region. Women accounted for 53 percent of all people living with HIV, while men represented 47 percent.

The agency said new infections in 2025 were 42 percent lower than in 2010, describing the decline as significant but still insufficient to meet the target of a 90 percent reduction by 2030.

«“Globally in 2025, 1.2 million people acquired HIV. This was a 42% reduction compared with 2010 and almost halfway to the target of a 90% reduction by 2030,” the report stated.»

Key populations remain disproportionately affected

WHO said nearly half of all new HIV infections occurred among key populations and their sexual partners. Outside sub-Saharan Africa, these groups accounted for about 70 percent of new infections. The agency identified men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, sex workers, transgender people, and people in prisons and other closed settings as the populations most affected.

HIV-related deaths continue to fall

The report showed that 570,000 people died from HIV-related causes in 2025, representing a 57 percent reduction from 2010 levels. However, WHO said annual deaths would need to fall to about 130,000 by 2030 to achieve the global target of a 90 percent reduction in AIDS-related deaths.

Treatment coverage approaches global targets

By the end of 2025, 88 percent of people living with HIV knew their status, 89 percent of those diagnosed were receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 95 percent of those on treatment had achieved viral suppression.

WHO said the figures place the global response close to the internationally agreed 95-95-95 targets for 2030. The number of people receiving ART has risen dramatically from about 8 million in 2010 to 32 million in 2025.

Despite the progress, the agency warned that about 9 million people  roughly 22 percent of all people living with HIV were still not receiving treatment, leaving them at greater risk of illness, death, and onward transmission of the virus.

Funding cuts threaten gains

WHO also expressed concern that reductions in international donor funding could undermine decades of progress against HIV/AIDS. The agency said recent disruptions to U.S. foreign assistance programs had already affected HIV prevention, testing, treatment initiation, laboratory services, health workforce capacity, community-based interventions, and HIV monitoring systems in several countries.

The organization warned that sustaining progress toward ending AIDS will increasingly depend on stronger domestic financing by countries with high HIV burdens, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. It called for greater national investment to protect existing gains, expand access to prevention and treatment services, and keep the world on track to meet the 2030 target of ending AIDS as a public health threat.