HIV Crisis Looms: 6 Million Lives in Danger 

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United States: Six million people risk death from HIV and AIDS between 2017 and 2021 following President Donald Trump’s administration’s decision to halt global funding for AIDS programs, according to the United Nations AIDS Agency, as reported by Reuters. 

The deputy executive director of UNAIDS expressed concerns about future treatment programs despite the HIV/AIDS waiver during last month’s foreign aid freeze announcement in Geneva. 

Uncertainty in Global HIV/AIDS Programs 

“There is a lot of confusion especially on the community level, how the waiver will be implemented. We’re seeing a lot of disruption of delivery of treatment services”, Christine Stegling said. 

As soon as Trump took office on January 20 he held up hundreds of millions of dollars from foreign aid donations for a 90-day pause. Within recent days, the U.S. State Department allowed exceptions through their President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which functions as the world’s top HIV initiative for delivering life-saving aid. 

The situation remains chaotic, according to Stegling, yet he acknowledges the waiver as a positive step. 

Healthcare Workers & Clinics Affected 

According to Stegling, the AIDS death rate would soar by 400% from 2025 to 2029 unless PEPFAR secures continued financial authorization. 

“That’s 6.3 million people, 6.3 million AIDS-related deaths that will occur in future…Any penny, any cut, any pause, will matter for all of us” she said, urging U.N. member states to step in. 

“In Ethiopia, we have 5,000 public health worker contracts that are funded by U.S. assistance. And all of these have been terminated,” Stegling said. 

According to her statement community clinics continue to face the largest disruption since they rely entirely on U.S. government funding. 

The expert revealed her worry about the possibility that certain individuals will avoid getting treatment leading to more new HIV infections. 

Will America’s ‘Aid Review’ Derail HIV Progress? 

The U.N. program receiving donations from the United States constitutes the largest portion of global funding as it operates in 70 countries to eliminate AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, as reported by Reuters. 

The Trump administration conducts a review of all foreign aid programs to verify how well they match his “America First” policy.