There could be 2,000 new HIV infections daily worldwide and a ten-fold increase in related deaths if funding halted by the United States is not restored or replaced, according to the United Nations AIDS agency.
Since taking office, President Trump placed nearly all U.S. foreign aid on hold. Shortly thereafter, the State Department announced that critical HIV work under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) faced significant disruptions.
Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS, highlighted the devastating impact on people living with HIV/AIDS, stating that the withdrawal of U.S. funding has led to clinic closures and the layoffs of thousands of health workers. She noted, “We expect to see new infections rising,” with UNAIDS estimating the potential for 2,000 new infections each day.
Byanyima mentioned that these figures are based on UN modeling but did not provide further details on how the estimates were derived. The U.S. delegation in Geneva did not respond to requests for comment.
Byanyima warned that if funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) does not resume after a 90-day pause in April or is not replaced by another government, the next four years could see an additional 6.3 million AIDS-related deaths. She indicated that in 2023, there were 600,000 AIDS-related deaths globally, emphasizing the severity of the situation.
The Trump administration has asserted that these measures align with its “America First” policy. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed concerns about foreign aid cuts, citing waivers for life-saving services. The Trump team claims to have saved American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars through swift actions to cancel contracts and eliminate fraud and waste, although supporting evidence for these assertions has not been provided.
UNAIDS, which coordinates the global response to HIV/AIDS, received $50 million in core funding from the U.S. last year, accounting for 35% of the agency's budget.