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aid cuts
Cuts to foreign aid could result in 10 million new HIV cases cases within five years
The slash in funding could return HIV/AIDS mortality rates to levels not seen since 2000.
6.01am, 27 Mar 2025
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PAUSES TO FOREIGN aid by the US and other countries could cause up to ten million additional HIV infections by 2030, according to new research.
A new study published this morning projects that cuts in aid by the US and four other countries could see a return in mortality rates from HIV/AIDS to levels not seen since 2000.
The decision by the Trump administration to cut 90% of the foreign aid it provides to poorer countries was implemented in late January.
The US has been leading the way in the fight against HIV worldwide, providing 73% of international donations.
Funding from America’s two foreign aid programmes USAID and PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) have ensured HIV treatment and prevention services for millions in Third World countries, including several in sub-Saharan Africa.
Total US donations to foreign HIV prevention and treatment programmes have helped to reduce new HIV cases by an average of 8% per year since 2010.
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America is not the only state enacting cuts to foreign aid programmes – the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands are also considering varying degrees of reductions in donations, which will mean global funding for combatting HIV will diminish by a quarter by next year.
Medical journal The Lancet has published a report this morning estimating that reductions in aid quantities from donor countries to poorer countries could create an additional 4.4 to 10.8 million HIV cases by 2030, undoing most of the progress made over 25 years.
A protestor holds a sign directed at Elon Musk and Donald Trump after the pair enacted cuts to several US government agencies including USAID. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Co-author of the Lancet study, Dr Debra ten Brink, said the cuts could have “devastating” consequences.
“The current cuts to PEPFAR and USAID-supported programmes have already disrupted access to essential HIV services including for antiretroviral therapy and HIV prevention and testing,” she said.
“Looking ahead, if other donor countries reduce funding, decades of progress to treat and prevent HIV could be unravelled.
“It is imperative to secure sustainable financing and avoid a resurgence of the HIV epidemic which could have devastating consequences, not just in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, but globally.”
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