By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has expressed concern over President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend US foreign aid, including funding for AIDS relief.
The global organisation noted that the decision could trigger a surge in deaths from the deadly disease.
As the world’s largest provider of development assistance, the United States channels much of its humanitarian funding through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
However, upon returning to office in January, this year, Trump imposed a sweeping three-month freeze on international aid, sending global relief efforts into disarray.
“It’s dramatic in many countries,” UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima told AFP.
“I need to sound the alarm so that it’s very clear that this is a big part (of AIDS relief funding). If it goes away, people are going to die.”
Among the affected initiatives is the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which saw all its operations temporarily halted before the administration later allowed exceptions for life-saving medications.
PEPFAR supports over 20 million HIV patients and sustains 270,000 healthcare workers, according to the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR).
Byanyima warned that UNAIDS projections indicate AIDS-related deaths could increase tenfold, reaching 6.3 million in five years.
“Or we could see new infections increase up to 8.7 million” over the same period, she added.
While US officials insist that “life-saving treatments” remain exempted from the freeze, reports from African healthcare workers suggest some medical facilities have already closed due to funding disruptions.
Speaking at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Byanyima urged African leaders to shift toward domestic funding for healthcare.
However, she acknowledged that many nations are crippled by debt—some owing “more than 50 percent of their entire revenue collections”—making it difficult to offset the potential shortfall.
“Part of the answer is in pushing very hard for an immediate and comprehensive debt restructuring,” she said.
“For many of them, debt is crowding out what could be spent on health and education.”
Founded in 1961, USAID manages an annual budget exceeding $40 billion, funding development, healthcare, and humanitarian programs worldwide, particularly in low-income countries.
