HIV Activists Demand Release of Billions in Unlawfully Withheld PEPFAR Funds

EMBARGOED UNTIL: 11:00 AM ET, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2025

PRESS ADVISORY

HIV Activists to Stage Protest and Civil Disobedience in Washington, D.C. Calling on Trump and Vought Release of Billions in Unlawfully Withheld Funding for Global HIV Prevention and Treatment 

Congress Returns from Recess Facing Demand to Fully Restore PEPFAR and Reject Vought’s Illegal Defiance of their Appropriations Authority

What: Protest and civil disobedience led by Housing Works, Health GAP, Treatment Action Group, a coalition of HIV organizations, ex-PEPFAR staff and development experts including Dr. Atul Gawande, former Assistant Administrator and Head of Global Health Bureau, USAID

When and Where: Tuesday, September 2, 2025, 11 AM, Washington, D.C. – Near White House (details upon confirmed attendance)

Why: Activists are demanding an end to unlawful obstruction of approximately $3.1 billion in already Congressionally appropriated PEPFAR funding by Trump’s head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Russell Vought. These funds are urgently needed for lifesaving HIV prevention and treatment. Clinics across sub Saharan Africa are reporting PEFPAR is now telling them to slash their budgets, despite Congress fully funding the global AIDS program. Revelations that Vought was singlehandedly defying the will of Congress were recently reported in The New York Times (see: “Trump Budget Office Is Withholding H.I.V. Funds That Congress Appropriated”).

Activists are calling for full restoration of PEPFAR, immediate disbursement of appropriated PEPFAR funds, and rejection of deadly political interference in global and domestic HIV programs. Vought’s obstruction comes amidst growing attacks by Trump’s Cabinet on public health, most recently as the White House attempts to oust CDC Director Susan Monarez over her commitment to upholding evidence-based science, prompting four top CDC officials to resign in a rare display of joint public protest. CDC is a major PEPFAR implementer, responsible for one-third of the program budget. Activists are demanding Trump, Vought and Congress:

• Fully restore PEPFAR programming, and direct PEPFAR countries to budge and plan a funding levels consistent with Congressional appropriations 
• Immediately release already-appropriated PEPFAR funds currently being withheld
• Reaffirm a commitment to science-based, stigma-free health policy, globally and domestically 

Visuals: March, rally, banners, and planned civil disobedience featuring national HIV/AIDS advocates and grassroots leaders. Interviews available with spokespeople and longtime HIV  activists on-site.

Contact: Asia Russell, Health GAP:  (267) 475 2645 | asia@healthgap.org
Elizabeth Koke, Housing Works: (646) 342 9350 | e.koke@housingworks.org
Anthony Feliciano, Housing Works: (646) 325 5317 | a.feliciano@housingworks.org