Lagos – The International AIDS Society (IAS) has warned that the immediate freezing of funding to the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), including a stop-work order for existing grants and contracts portends a looming crisis for millions, worldwide.
According to IAS, the immediate freezing places millions of lives in jeopardy, according to a statement signed by Beatriz Grinsztejn, IAS President, weekend.
On Day 1 of taking office as US President, Donald Trump signed an executive order that banned any new government spending on foreign aid projects. This was followed by an unexpected “stop-work order” issued on 24 January, which means that funding to PEPFAR, even for existing grants and contracts, is frozen.
“This is a matter of life or death,” Grinsztejn, IAS President said. “PEPFAR provides lifesaving antiretrovirals for more than 20 million people – and stopping its funding essentially stops their HIV treatment. If that happens, people are going to die and HIV will resurge.
“It makes no sense to suddenly stop this incredible catalyst of our global progress towards ending HIV as a threat to public health and individual well-being.”
PEPFAR is the largest commitment by any country, ever, to address a single disease. Since it established PEPFAR in 2003, the US government has invested over USD 110 billion in the global HIV response. It has saved 26 million lives and prevented millions of HIV acquisitions in more than 50 countries.
As PEPFAR itself states: “PEPFAR’s lifesaving work is enabled through the U.S. government’s unwavering commitment to the program and the American people’s compassion and generosity, as PEPFAR ensures every U.S. taxpayer dollar is optimally focused for impact.”
The IAS urgently calls on policy makers and stakeholders to restore the funding lifeline to this pivotal programme. Lives depend on it, right now.
IAS, the International AIDS Society convenes, educates and advocates for a world in which HIV no longer presents a threat to public health and individual well-being. After the emergence of HIV and AIDS, concerned scientists created the IAS to bring together experts from across the world and disciplines to promote a concerted HIV response.
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