‘It’s back to drug rationing’: the end of HIV was in sight. Then came the cuts

The abrupt halt to US funding threatens to undo decades of advances, dramatically increasing infections and deaths, but some see an opportunity for Africa to lead the response

This year the world should have been talking about the virtual elimination of HIV" in the near future. Within five years," says Prof Sharon Lewin, a leading researcher in the field. Now that's all very uncertain."

Scientific advances had allowed doctors and campaigners to feel optimistic that the end of HIV as a public health threat was just around the corner.