January 24, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Trump Administration’s Far-Reaching Halt to U.S-funded Foreign Assistance Will Devastate the Global AIDS Response

PRESS STATEMENT
For Immediate Release: January 24 2025
Contact: Asia Russell, +1 267 475 2645 | press@healthgap.org

 

The Trump Administration’s Far-Reaching Halt to U.S-funded Foreign Assistance Will Devastate the Global AIDS Response

 

Today the State Department released a cable stopping all U.S. foreign assistance, pending a review by the U.S. government. This cable is not limited to a pause on the award of new funds, or on the release of new tranches of funding for existing, approved programs. It is also a stoppage of current programs operating in the field—now. “This is cruel—and will be devastating to the AIDS response if not immediately reversed,” said Asia Russell, Health GAP Executive Director.

“For PEPFAR, the U.S. global AIDS program, a freeze will snatch life saving services and medicines from the hands of hundreds of millions of adults, teenagers and babies with HIV and at greatest risk of acquisition of HIV.” PEPFAR currently provides HIV treatment to 20.6 million people, HIV testing to 83.8 million people, and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for 2.5 million people. This stop work order requires that PEPFAR programs stop immediately.

“While the Secretary of State has discretion to protect any program from this stoppage, he has not used his waiver authority to allow PEPFAR or other essential programs to continue their work. Secretary Rubio must immediately rescind this stop work order before the Trump Administration does further, irreparable harm to the global fight against AIDS.”