The World Health Organization warned on July 27 that the global response to HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections is off track to meet 2030 goals, despite major advances in treatment and prevention. Its new 122-page mid-term assessment, released in Rio de Janeiro during the 26th International AIDS Conference and before World Hepatitis Day, found that funding disruption, humanitarian emergencies and persistent inequality could reverse recent gains.
WHO estimated that 32 million people living with HIV were receiving treatment by the end of 2025. New HIV infections have fallen 42% and AIDS-related deaths 57% since 2010, but nine million people still lack life-saving treatment. The agency said new infections are increasing in several regions, especially among men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who inject drugs, transgender people and people in prisons.
The hepatitis picture is also mixed. Annual hepatitis B infections have declined 32% since 2015 and hepatitis C-related deaths have fallen 12%, yet viral hepatitis caused an estimated 1.3 million deaths in 2024. Deaths linked specifically to hepatitis B have risen 17% since 2015, while diagnosis and treatment coverage remains low even though effective medicines can prevent severe liver disease and death.
Progress against other sexually transmitted infections remains uneven. WHO reported stronger national policies, better syphilis screening and treatment during pregnancy and a modest rise in HPV vaccination. At the same time, infection rates are climbing in several countries and communities, antibiotic resistance is making gonorrhoea harder to treat, and weak surveillance limits the ability to measure the burden accurately.
The agency said integrated primary care offers the clearest route to faster progress. It urged countries to connect HIV, hepatitis and STI services with tuberculosis care, reproductive health, maternal and child health and treatment for noncommunicable diseases. WHO also highlighted multi-disease testing, stronger digital surveillance and twice-yearly injectable lenacapavir, which is being introduced in 10 countries with another 14 planning rollout.
WHO called for governments to protect essential programmes during funding shocks, expand community leadership and focus investment on people least likely to receive care. It also prioritised ending mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B. The assessment is intended to guide the second half of the 2022–2030 strategy period as countries implement new international HIV commitments and confront the widening gap between available medical tools and access to them.
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