In the report entitled “Let Communities Lead”, UNAIDS says AIDS can be ended as a public health threat by 2030, only when communities on the frontlines receive adequate support from governments and sponsors.

UNAIDS statistics reveal that 31% of all HIV resources were channeled through civil society organizations in 2012, civil society including community-led organizations and large international nongovernmental organizations accounted for 20% of HIV funding in 2021.

UNAIDS calls for increased funding and tools so that communities can play a greater role in the fight to prevent and eliminate AIDS.

UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said in many countries, especially in Africa, communities are always ready and able to efficiently lead and support health agencies.

She took Nigeria as an example. In Nigeria, programs delivered by community-based organizations are associated with a 64% increase in access to HIV treatment in rural areas and a doubling of the likelihood of prevention service use. Communities with high engagement of community-based organizations had a four-fold increase in consistent condom use with all partners in the previous 12 months in Kenya.