‘HIV cases will swell by six times if US pulls out’

london: The head of the UN AIDS agency said on Monday the number of new HIV infections could jump more than six times by 2029 if American support of the biggest AIDS programme is dropped, warning that millions of people could die and more resistant strains of the disease could emerge.

UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said HIV infections have been falling in recent years, with just 1.3 million new cases recorded in 2023, a 60 per cent decline since the virus peaked in 1995.

But since President Donald Trump’s announcement the US would freeze all foreign assistance for 90 days, Byanyima said officials estimate that by 2029, there could be 8.7 million people newly infected with HIV, 6.3 million AIDS-related deaths and an additional 3.4 million children made orphans. “We will see a surge in this disease,” Byanyima said, speaking

from Uganda.