An HIV-free generation is closer than you think

The effort to protect babies from HIV is working. It’s also in danger.

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May 26, 2026 5:15pm EDT

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During the worst years of the AIDS epidemic, hundreds of thousands of babies were born with HIV each year, primarily in the Global South. Today, the availability of medications that all but negate the possibility of mother-to-child transmission has dramatically reduced those numbers.

While 120,000 children are still born with HIV every year, we have the tools to create a fully AIDS-free generation. But as Sara Herschander writes in a new article for Future Perfect’s The End of HIV series, that hope is very much at risk, thanks in part to the Trump administration’s cuts to USAID. Sara draws on the experiences of those who’ve lived through this changing situation and also speaks to those who are struggling to grapple with the new status quo of global aid.

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—Jacob Brogan, deputy editor