By admin 
UNAIDS warns that President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze U.S. overseas funding could lead to millions of additional deaths from AIDS. The U.S. is the largest global provider of official development assistance, with the majority of funds being directed through USAID.
Winnie Byanyima, the UNAIDS executive director, told AFP that the situation is dramatic in many countries and that “if it goes away, people are going to die”. Trump’s decision included a 90-day suspension of all work by PEPFAR, though waivers for medication were later issued.
According to an analysis from the Foundation for AIDS Research, the program supports more than 20 million HIV patients and 270,000 health workers. UNAIDS estimates that deaths could increase tenfold to 6.3 million in five years, or new infections could increase up to 8.7 million in the same period.
Although the U.S. has stated that “life-saving treatments” would be exempt from the freeze, front-line workers in Africa report that facilities have already closed. Byanyima said she had discussed the issue with leaders, urging them to transition from foreign funding towards using domestic revenue. She noted that many African nations were burdened with huge debts, crippling their ability to address the potential shortfall and that “debt is crowding out what could be spent on health and education”.
Gill Bikram Singh