Sunday Times Editorial: THIS past Thursday, December 1, the world marked another Aids Day, a sobering reminder that millions still succumb to the deadly HI virus. It was also a chance to reflect on the dedicated fight against the disease.

To be sure, there are notable advances in the fight against Aids. In South Africa, antiretrovirals are more readily available than they were, say, 10 years ago. Social stigma has lessened, there's refreshingly more open talk about the disease and, as a consequence, a greater awareness about preventing and fighting it. Just this week the Minister of Health, Aaron Motsoaledi - while chastising married men for higher infection cases among the older generation - reported a drop in the number of infection cases.

Overall, there's unmistakable confidence in the air that - after decades of research and billions of dollars in the search for a cure - the world is on a winning course when it comes to Aids.

It is therefore disconcerting that the Global Fund for the Fight of Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria has cut funding to nations it has backed for years.

In Southern Africa these include countries hardest hit by the pandemic, among them South Africa, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Malawi. The fund cites a lack of funds for the move.

Not everyone agrees. Some suggest geopolitics have a role to play. The theory goes that funds have been withheld in retaliation for Palestine seeking a seat on the United Nations cultural body, Unesco. The fund falls under the ambit of this UN agency. Whether or not this view is a conspiracy theory, cutting funding will surely have devastating consequences in the fight against Aids. Some lobby groups in developing countries, such as our own Treatment Action Campaign, have warned that the quality of treatment will be severely compromised.

Sure, the world is never short of problems; in fact the list is ever-growing, with climate change being one such case. But it would be foolhardy, if not callous, to undo the sterling work that has been done in the fight against Aids. It may take us back to square one - and undermine the legacy of people like courageous young victim Nkosi Johnson.