The Trump administration has abruptly stopped the distribution of live-saving antiretroviral HIV drugs to almost 26 million people worldwide. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the global health program launched by President George W. Bush in 2003 that is credited with saving more than 25 million lives around the world.
BREAKING: The Trump administration has instructed organizations in other countries to stop disbursing HIV medications purchased with U.S. aid, even if the drugs have already been obtained and are sitting in local clinics.
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/h… [image or embed] — Apoorva Mandavilli (@apoorvanyt.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 3:19 PM
From the New York Times:
The Trump administration has instructed organizations in other countries to stop disbursing H.I.V. medications purchased with U.S. aid, even if the drugs have already been obtained and are sitting in local clinics.
The administration had already moved to stop PEPFAR funding from moving to clinics, hospitals and other organizations in low-income countries.
Appointments are being canceled, and patients are being turned away from clinics, according to people with knowledge of the situation who feared retribution if they spoke publicly. Many people with H.I.V. are facing abrupt interruptions to their treatment.
In 2017, Trump wanted to cut $300 million from PEPFAR’s budget and former President George W. Bush implored the Donald to leave the program alone.
I know there’s a lot right now. But folks need to understand what this means.
A suspension this long would mean people living with HIV lose their medicine for months. People around the world lose their PrEP for months, putting millions at risk of getting HIV. Drug-resistant strains could emerge. [image or embed] — Brandon Wolf (@brandonwolf.bsky.social) January 27, 2025 at 11:11 AM
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