The US government has stopped support for HIV treatment in Nigeria and other developing countries as a result of President Donald Trump’s order. The US State Department stopped the allocation of funds from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a program for the treatment of HIV in Africa and developing countries, for 90 days.
This resulted from President Trump’s executive order on foreign aid, signed on his first day in office. All government agencies managing foreign development assistance programs were instructed to stop allocating funds.
As a consequence, almost all US global health funding was immediately stopped. According to a report, PEPFAR has stopped allocating funds, and operations are likely to be suspended for at least three months if an exemption to the program is not made in the coming weeks.
PEPFAR delivers HIV/AIDS treatment to more than 20.6 million people with an annual budget of $6.5 billion, which has not only saved lives but helps to curb the spread of the virus just like other philanthropic organizations that have also contributed to health, education and humanitarian aid. The US State Department fact sheet estimates that 26 million people have been saved since PEPFAR’s inception.
“The United States is no longer going to blindly dole out money with no return for the American people,” said the agency.
Public health experts fear the new Trump administration might terminate the program. Others hope Marco Rubio’s appointment as Secretary of State could signal positive news for PEPFAR because of his past support for the initiative.
The impact of HIV funding cut on Nigeria
Currently, approximately two million Nigerians live with HIV, with many of them benefitting from PEPFAR. Nigeria heavily relies on programs such as PEPFAR for access to life-saving medications and support of healthcare infrastructure as one of the countries globally with the highest HIV burden.
PEPFAR, over the years, has contributed over $6 billion to support Nigeria’s national HIV/AIDS response. The suspension or permanent stop of the program is likely to impact efforts to control HIV in Nigeria significantly.
The global health community has urged Trump’s administration for its stance reconsideration as many warn that the stop could jeopardize international efforts to end HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, the United Nations set objective. Millions of vulnerable individuals’ fates now are hanging on whether the US government lifts the suspension or permits the unfolding of a humanitarian crisis.