Cuts in US funding for HIV programmes have already led to declines in testing and treatment starts in several countries, research presented at the 13th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2025) in Kigali shows. Longer-term reductions in donor funding could lead to 10.8 million extra HIV infections and 2.9 million extra deaths by 2030, modelling suggests.
The US government announced a pause in all foreign assistance through USAID on 21 January 2025. USAID grant holders were told to stop work on 24 January and thousands of HIV testing counsellors and clinic staff were laid off in programmes supported by USAID funding. In some countries, vital medications were stranded in warehouses because USAID funded the supply chain that brought those drugs to pharmacies. Although a limited waiver was granted to allow funding of PEPFAR treatment and care services, studies from Mozambique and South Africa’s largest city show the swift impact of the USAID funding cut on testing, HIV diagnosis and new treatment initiations in the first quarter of 2025.
Read the full news story at aidsmap.
All aidsmap reports from IAS 2025 can be accessed here.
Source : aidsmap
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