Trump Administration Freezes HIV Medication Distribution Amid Foreign Aid Moratorium
The administration of President Donald Trump has ordered a halt to the distribution of HIV medications purchased with aid from the U.S., according to The New York Times.
This decision impacts drugs that are already in local clinics and ready to be administered to HIV-positive patients.
The Times reported that this order is part of a larger moratorium on foreign aid. Last week, the Trump administration put a freeze of at least 90 days on funds that purchase most HIV treatments in Africa. Most notably affected is the $7.5 billion President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which is administered by the Department of State.
Global health experts have expressed shock at the administration's freeze on the distribution of drugs that have already been purchased. Jirair Ratevosian, former PEPFAR chief of staff, called the halting of drug distribution "devastating."
"This is another domino in the devastating impact of the harmful freeze to programs, leaving lives hanging in the balance," he told The Times.
The Times cited a study concluding that if PEPFAR were to be abolished, it could result in as many as 600,000 deaths in South Africa alone over the next decade.
Asia Russell, executive director of the advocacy group Health Gap, said, "The partners we collaborate with are in shock, and they do not know what to do because their lifesaving mission and commitment has been breached."
This decision follows another health-related directive in which the administration instructed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to cease communication with the World Health Organization.
Last week, Trump ordered the U.S. to withdraw from the WHO, citing the organization's mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health crises.
