Eight countries, including six in Africa, face the risk of running out of life-saving HIV medication due to the United States' decision to suspend foreign aid, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
The affected nations include Nigeria, Kenya, Lesotho, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, and Mali, along with Haiti and Ukraine. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cautioned that disruptions in HIV treatment programs could reverse two decades of progress, potentially resulting in over 10 million new infections and three million additional deaths.
The aid suspension stems from an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump on his first day in office in January, as part of a broader review of government spending under the "America First" policy. The move has severely impacted health programs worldwide, leading to logistical disruptions and the halting of critical shipments, including antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for HIV patients.
Although a waiver was issued in February for the US-backed President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the program remains significantly affected. With logistical support from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and other impacted organizations, PEPFAR’s operations have been disrupted in over 50 countries.
Launched in 2003, PEPFAR has been instrumental in providing HIV treatment and prevention services globally, credited with saving over 26 million lives. The sudden halt of these services now threatens the health of millions, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where 25 million people live with HIV—more than two-thirds of the global total of 38 million cases.
In Nigeria alone, nearly two million people depend on aid-funded HIV medication, while Kenya ranks seventh in the world for HIV prevalence, with around 1.4 million cases.
Dr. Tedros urged the US to reconsider its stance, emphasizing the broader implications for global health security. "The US has been extremely generous in the past, but if it withdraws support, it must do so in a way that allows affected nations to find alternative funding sources," he stated.
He further warned that scaling back global health funding not only endangers millions of lives but also increases the risk of outbreaks spreading internationally.