Why the latest blow to the HIV/AIDS response at the UN should have everyone sounding the alarm

The American and Russian delegations at the United Nations, along with six others, recently voted against the new Political Declaration on AIDS. The United States complained about the inclusion of “divisive” political topics “not related to the fight against AIDS.” Russia opposed the previous Political Declaration in 2021 on similar grounds, but this represented a seismic change in the American approach to the issue. As a political scientist studying the diplomacy of HIV/AIDS, I am not…