A revolutionary microbicidal gel can reduce a woman's chances of acquiring HIV by 54 percent. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps.

Funding was a huge topic of concern at this year's International AIDS Conference, which took place last week in Vienna. Scientists, survivors, activists and others striving to defeat HIV are worried because key donor nations have been cutting funding since the recession hit, says Reuters.

The trouble is, these cuts are coming at a critical moment in the fight against AIDS. Just this week, the New York Times reported on a new vaginal microbicidal gel that cuts women's chances of contracting HIV by 54 percent. The gel places a rare power in the hands of women, and one dose could be even cheaper than a condom. Moreover, earlier this month scientists reached a critical breakthrough in the search for an HIV vaccine. The Wall Street Journal described the discovery:

HIV research is undergoing a renaissance that could lead to new ways to develop vaccines against the AIDS virus and other viral diseases. In the latest development, U.S. government scientists say they have discovered three powerful antibodies, the strongest of which neutralizes 91 percent of HIV strains, more than any AIDS antibody yet discovered.

As developments like these bring scientists closer to an ever-elusive AIDS vaccine, their research needs funding now more than ever, reports the Washington Post. At the conference, Global Fund director Michel Kazatchkine told Reuters that his agency needs $20 billion over the next three years to carry this research forward. And in an interview with CNN, Bill Clinton warned donor nations that reduced funding now will mean more gruesome costs later.

If we all do this, the consequences will be calamitous and you'll spend more money later ... You'll start having large numbers of people dying again, you'll have more political instability, more economic collapse, and it's going to cost us more money later. So it's not only going to be a humanitarian crisis. You'll pay now or pay later. So if it's at all possible, hang in there.

HIV/AIDS programs have saved and prolonged the lives of millions, but at the moment 5 million more are still in need of drugs. As a result, activists like Desmond Tutu are looking to President Obama to renew his financial commitment to AIDS funding.