US aid funding cuts create confusion, put HIV prevention at risk, says UNAIDS
The US pause in foreign assistance funding has created “a lot of confusion” in community HIV prevention work, despite the waiver issued for HIV/AIDS programmes, the UN agency to combat AIDS (UNAIDS) said on Friday.
The waiver allows the continuation or resumption of “life-saving humanitarian assistance” including HIV treatment. That means 20 million people living with HIV who depend on US aid for their treatment can continue to receive medication. “That’s 20 million out of the 30 million people living with HIV in the world,” said Christine Stegling, Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS, at a scheduled press briefing in Geneva.
The HIV global response is heavily dependent on funds from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR); it finances 70 per cent of the overall AIDS response and directly supports more than 20 million people living with HIV.
Since its creation in 2003, PEPFAR has saved more than 26 million lives by investing in critical HIV prevention, treatment, care and support programs in 55 countries, according to UNAIDS.
Nevertheless, “there is a lot of confusion on the ground especially at the community level on how the waiver will be implemented”, Ms. Stegling reported, pointing to disruption of treatment services. Transport services and community health workers are also still impacted by the US funding pause, according to UNAIDS.
Drop-in centres at risk
The agency highlighted that the pause in US assistance to community programmes would lead to the closure of many drop-in health centres and the termination of outreach workers’ contracts, effectively depriving vulnerable groups of support.
The biggest interruption will be to community health services which have been crucial in the success of the fight against HIV, according to UNAIDS. In Ethiopia 5,000 public health worker contracts depend on US assistance. “All of these, in all regions of Ethiopia, have been terminated, as well as 10,000 data clerks, very important in Ethiopia”, added Ms. Stegling.
Thousands of individuals - women, young girls, and priority populations at higher risk of sexually transmitted infections - will no longer be able to access critical services, such as condom distribution, HIV testing, antiretroviral treatment, pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention, screenings for tuberculosis or support to address gender-based violence.
UNAIDS is most concerned about the long-term impact of the US funding freeze on prevention of new HIV infections as most services are community-based, while national governments tend to focus on keeping people on treatment, rather than preventing new infections.
If the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is not re-authorized between 2025 and 2029 and other resources were not found for the HIV response, “there would be a 400 per cent increase in AIDS death”, UNAIDS said. “That’s 6.3 million people, 6.3 million AIDS related deaths that will occur in the future”, Ms. Stegling told journalists.
UNAIDS says it will continue efforts to ensure that during the 90-day pause, all people affected by HIV continue to access life-saving services.
Ends
Story: “US aid funding cuts impact – UNAIDS” – Friday 07 February 2025
Speakers:
TRT: 02’02”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 07 February 2025 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Geneva Press briefing
SHOTLIST
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , UNOG
Over 11.6 million refugees risk losing aid access due to funding cuts, says UNHCR
Approximately one in three refugees and other vulnerable individuals normally supported by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) are expected to lose out from funding cuts, it said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, made the following announcement on the Office’s opening of a new mission in Bangladesh.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
“The surge in the number of Afghans forced or compelled to return to Afghanistan this year is creating a multi-layered human rights crisis requiring the urgent attention of the international community,” UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday called for accountability and justice for the killings and other gross human rights violations and abuses in the southern city of Suweida.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNHCR
Syria: hundreds killed in Sweida, ‘widespread’ violations as civilians flee for their lives
Amid violent clashes in southern Syria’s Sweida governorate, a picture of grave human rights abuses and rising humanitarian needs is emerging by the hour, the UN said on Friday.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Liz Throssell made the following statement on the latest number of civilian casualties in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday called for investigations into hundreds of killings of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank by Israeli security forces and settlers, warning against ongoing forced mass displacement of the Palestinian population.
1
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR , UNRWA
Nearly 900 people have been killed in Gaza in recent weeks trying to fetch food, with most deaths linked to private aid hubs run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and the UN Human Rights Office have today released a report detailing the evolution of violent gang incidents beyond the capital Port-au-Prince since October 2024 up to June 2025, and the resulting loss of life and mass displacement.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , OHCHR
Gaza: ‘Unacceptable’ choice between getting shot or getting fed – UN humanitarians
Following the deaths of several children in an Israeli strike on Palestinians waiting in line for nutritional supplements in central Gaza on Thursday, UN humanitarians have once again condemned the killings of people at aid distribution sites in the enclave.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the United Nations bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights made the following comments on the recent violence in Kenya.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITC
US tariffs uncertainty hurts world economy, with poorest countries hit hardest – top UN economist
A new US decision to further delay the end of a 90-day pause on tariffs is bad for business, a top UN economist said on Tuesday.