UNAIDS chief: US funding cut could mean ’10-fold increase’ in deaths
- In Geneva on Monday, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima stated that the US government's pause on foreign aid, including HIV program funding initiated by President Donald Trump, is having a devastating impact on the fight against AIDS.
- The United States has historically been the largest donor of humanitarian assistance and HIV treatment and prevention, contributing approximately 35% of UNAIDS' core budget.
- The sudden withdrawal of US funding has led to stop-work orders, the closure of mother and baby clinics in Africa, and severe shortages of life-saving anti-retroviral medicines, potentially reversing 25 years of progress.
- Byanyima warned that without restored funding, there could be 6.3 million additional AIDS-related deaths and 8.7 million new infections in the next four years, potentially leading to a resurgence of the pandemic to levels not seen since the 1990s, with women and girls being particularly hard hit; she stated, "It is very serious" and "You're talking of losing the gains that we have made over the last 25 years."
- Byanyima proposed a deal to the Trump administration involving the US-developed ARV Lenacapavir to potentially benefit 10 million people, generate profits and jobs for the US, and lead to the end of AIDS, but it remains unclear if US funding will be restored as European donors are also planning cuts.
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116 Articles
UNAIDS Warns Millions Could Die from U.S. Aid Cuts
The head of UNAIDS is warning the withdrawal of U.S. foreign aid could lead to 2,000 new HIV infections every day around the world. UNAIDS chief Winnie Byanyima says millions could die if U.S. funding is not restored. Winnie Byanyima: “There will be an additional, in the next four years, 6.3 million AIDS-related deaths — 6.3 million more in the next four years. At the last count, 2023, we had 600,000 deaths globally, AIDS-related deaths. So you’…
More babies and mothers are dying in Afghanistan after USAID cuts, midwives say
In March, the World Health Organization announced more than 200 health care facilities had shut down, or suspended operationsin Afghanistan as a result of the Trump administration's funding freeze.
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