Sharp warnings over shrinking HIV funding dominated a meeting of Southern African Development Community (SADC) ministers in New York on March 16, as regional leaders urged renewed investment to protect the HIV response for women and girls.

Gender ministers from the 16-member SADC bloc met with UN Women and UNAIDS officials during the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), warning that declining international support risks reversing gains made against HIV in Southern Africa.

Southern Africa remains the global epicentre of the HIV epidemic. According to UNAIDS, the region accounts for a significant share of the world’s people living with HIV, with adolescent girls and young women facing infection rates several times higher than their male peers in several countries. Governments across the region rely heavily on donor funding to sustain prevention, treatment and education programmes.

Ministers warn funding decline threatens HIV response

SADC leaders said reduced global financing for HIV programmes could undermine decades of progress, particularly for young women and adolescent girls who remain among the most vulnerable groups.

“Adolescent girls and young women are still disproportionately affected by HIV due to gender inequalities, poverty and limited access to education and healthcare,” SADC gender ministers said in a joint statement issued during the meeting.

The ministers said governments must prioritise the health and rights of women and girls while strengthening accountability systems to ensure HIV prevention and treatment programmes remain effective.

Regional officials also reaffirmed commitments made in the 2021 United Nations General Assembly Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS, which calls for accelerated global action to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

UN Women calls for closing gender gaps in HIV prevention

Officials from UN Women said gender inequality continues to drive infection rates among women and girls across many African countries.

“Efforts must focus on closing the gender gap in HIV prevention, treatment, care and support while addressing the social and economic factors that increase vulnerability,” said Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, Deputy Executive Director for Normative Support, UN System Coordination and Programme Results at UN Women.

Gumbonzvanda said governments must address structural barriers including gender-based v!ol£nc£, economic inequality and discrimination that prevent women from accessing healthcare services.

She said UN Women would continue working with governments and civil society groups to expand programmes supporting women and girls living with or at risk of HIV.

Zimbabwe highlights legal reforms and gender protection

Zimbabwe’s Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Monica Mutsvangwa, said legal reforms must play a central role in strengthening HIV prevention efforts.

“We must ensure legal and justice reforms in all our countries explicitly protect the rights, safety and bodily autonomy of women, young women and adolescent girls,” Mutsvangwa said.

She said stronger enforcement of laws against gender-based v!ol£nc£ and HIV-related stigma would help improve access to healthcare and prevention programmes.

Mutsvangwa also called for broader partnerships between governments, SADC institutions, UN agencies and civil society organisations to coordinate regional HIV response strategies.

Wider significance for the region’s HIV fight

Southern Africa has recorded major progress against HIV over the past two decades through expanded treatment access, community awareness programmes and international funding initiatives.

However, health experts warn that global donor fatigue and shifting funding priorities could place new pressure on prevention and treatment programmes if domestic financing does not increase.

Regional leaders said sustaining investments in HIV programmes targeting women and girls remains essential to preventing new infections and protecting long-term public health gains.

What happens next

SADC ministers said the commitments discussed during the CSW70 meeting will inform regional policy planning and advocacy efforts aimed at strengthening HIV response programmes across Southern Africa.

Further discussions between governments, UN agencies and development partners are expected later this year as countries review progress toward global targets to end AIDS by 2030.

Ending AIDS as a public health threat in Southern Africa will depend as much on protecting women’s rights as on funding medicines and clinics.

Additional reporting sourced from ZBC. The Granite Post has independently verified key details.