In the wake of the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID, HIV infection rates and deaths are projected to soar worldwide. The World Health Organization’s director now warns that the world is on the brink of an international health crisis, with eight countries already running out of HIV medication.
On Monday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke alongside other WHO staff in a media briefing. The discussion centered around the disruptions caused by Trump’s pulling out of the WHO and gutting of USAID shortly after taking office.
Related
Finally some good news
As a result, WHO is facing “terrible choices” in restructuring and trimming 25% of its budget to accommodate for US withdrawal, Ghebreyesus said according to Health Policy Watch. “The US administration has been extremely generous over many years,” Ghebreyesus explained. “And of course it’s within its rights to decide what it supports and to what extent.
Culture, unfiltered
Our newsletter will bring you the pulse of queer culture, from the tastemakers to the groundbreakers.
“But the U.S. also has a responsibility to ensure that if it withdraws direct funding for countries, it’s done in an orderly and humane way that allows them to find alternative sources of funding.”
One key international program left in limbo is the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This federal program originally launched under the Bush administration is instrumental in supplying HIV medication globally. In January, Secretary of State Marcio Rubio ordered a freeze on all international aid which immediately halted PEPFAR for the first time in its 20 year history.
Although Rubio undid some of this damage in issuing a waiver that allowed “life-saving humanitarian assistance” to be distributed under specific conditions, the constrained budget is already having devastating effects. Now eight countries—Haiti, Kenya, Lesotho, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria and Ukraine—are on the brink of running out of medication.
“The suspension of most funding to PEPFAR caused an immediate stop to services for HIV treatment, testing and prevention in more than 50 countries,” Ghebreyesus explained.
“Eight countries now have substantial disruptions to antiretroviral (ARV) therapy and will run out of medicines in the coming months. Disruptions to HIV programs could undo 20 years of progress, leading to more than 10 million additional cases of HIV and three million HIV-related deaths, more than triple the number of deaths last year.”
Dr Meg Doherty, Director Global HIV, Hepatitis and STI Programs at WHO, said that these deaths are already occurring. In places like South Sudan, there have been reports of mothers and their children dying due to their inability to access ARV meds. Overdose deaths have also soared, given that opioid substitution therapy goes along with HIV programs in many countries to curb the use of contaminated needles.
“We are just going to need time to be able to get the data in,” Doherty said, “but we are seeing effects on the ground right now.”
Sign up for the INTO newsletter and get your twice-weekly dose of stories that shape the queer experience, culture, and lifestyle.
