‘People will die’: Chaos and mounting fear in Uganda as USAID cuts lead to ‘total panic’ and HIV clinic closures

In what will be seen as a signature act of the new Trump administration, the president and his team have denounced and dismembered the US government’s international assistance arm, USAID, in a matter of three weeks.

It is a decision that will have serious, real-world consequences – and the impact is already being felt in countries such as Uganda.

The health ministry in Uganda has announced its intention to shut all dedicated HIV/AIDS and TB clinics in the country. Stand-alone pharmacies supplying antiretroviral drugs will also be closed.

These facilities provide HIV treatments and preventative therapies to millions of people in Uganda, including an estimated 1.5 million currently living with the virus.

An official said the closure of HIV clinics was a necessary response as the country grapples with the loss of funding from USAID.

Directors and staff at the country’s public hospitals have been instructed to offer the same services at their outpatients and chronic care departments.

A USAID initiative called the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief – or PEPFAR – has bankrolled much of Uganda’s HIV/AIDS relief plan and it’s an initiative that has wielded impressive results.

Specially trained staff and dedicated clinics are credited with bringing infection rates down from 19% in the late 1990s to 5% in 2024.

Read the full story at Sky News.