Millions of Lives at Stake: Trump Halts AIDS Funding
Last updated on: 10 February 2025
President Trump has immediately frozen funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for 90 days. PEPFAR is the U.S. programme dedicated to combating HIV and AIDS. “The United States will no longer blindly hand out money without it benefiting the American people,” said State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce. As a result, all development aid has been halted with immediate effect.
This decision plunges the global HIV and AIDS response into an unprecedented crisis. By suspending funding, access to life-saving medication for millions of people is at risk of being abruptly cut off, leading to new infections and deaths.
Mark Vermeulen, director of Aidsfonds, warned: “The situation is extremely serious. Trump has suspended all senior health officials at USAID, the U.S. development agency. No one is allowed to communicate with the World Health Organization. Clinics that have received funding for HIV medication are no longer permitted to distribute those medications to patients. This is destroying years of progress in the fight against HIV.”
Halting PEPFAR is a strategic blunder. COVID taught us that epidemics do not respect borders
Mark Vermeulen, Director Aidsfonds
PEPFAR accounts for $7.5 billion in annual investments in the global AIDS response. While many countries have been able to increase their own financial contributions in recent years, many nations—especially in Sub-Saharan Africa—remain heavily dependent on PEPFAR. Without this funding, local organisations will be forced to shut down their operations. Since its inception, PEPFAR has provided life-saving care to over 25 million people across 54 countries.
Vermeulen, currently in Washington where he attended the Funders Concerned About AIDS summit, is working with other organisations to raise awareness on the global impact of this crisis. “Halting PEPFAR is a strategic blunder,” Vermeulen stated. “COVID taught us that epidemics do not respect borders. If we don’t do everything possible now to ensure that everyone with HIV receives proper care and medication, the price will be far higher in the future – both in human lives and healthcare costs.”
Sidaction and Aidsfonds are pleased to jointly launch a call for scientific proposals for the year 2026, aimed at accelerating advances in HIV cure research.
The aim of this call for proposals is to fund research projects exploring mechanisms or strategies that will contribute to achieving a cure or remission for HIV. Projects may investigate mechanisms to target the viral reservoir or enhance immune-driven control, the development of new therapeutic concepts, as well as research in the social sciences related to HIV cure or remission.
Through this call, we aim to support research that will ultimately lead to major biomedical breakthroughs, foster social acceptance of cure interventions, and promote an HIV cure accessible to the largest possible number of people living with HIV worldwide.
From Barrier to Bridge – How a Network is Building Bonds Between Police and Communities
From Barrier to Bridge – How a Network is Building Bonds Between Police and Communities
For the longest time, the absence of law enforcement at the table has been a critical missing piece in the jigsaw of HIV prevention and public health interventions. Whether through prejudice, lack of access to services, stigma and discrimination, public health outcomes are greatly affected by criminalisation. The lives of LGBTIQ+ people, sex workers and people who use drugs are disrupted daily through state sanctioned violence and criminalisation enacted by law enforcement. Recognising this gap, Aidsfonds, in close collaboration with its partners stepped in, bringing together communities, health service providers and law enforcement. Munya has been at the heart of this work, helping translate that collaboration into tangible change.
