The distribution of HIV drugs in foreign countries by the U.S. has been paused after President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on foreign aid.
The cuts by the Trump administration affect the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, established by former President George W. Bush. The global health program is credited to have saved more than 25 million lives around the world.
According to reporting by Reuters, the Trump administration ordered contractors and partners who work with the U.S. Agency for Internal Development (USAID) on Tuesday to stop work immediately. In a memo seen by Reuters, the cuts will affect supplies of lifesaving drugs for HIV, malaria and tuberculosis around the globe.
“This is catastrophic,” Atul Gawande, former head of global health at USAID told Reuters. “Donated drug supplies keeping 20 million people living with HIV alive. That stops today.”
The freeze by Trump will make a large impact as the U.S. accounts for 42% of all global aid, according to statistics by the United Nations.
Gawande said that interruptions in the delivery of these drugs will increase the risk of patients getting sick and transmitting the disease to others. He also told Reuters that the notices received by him and other partners would not allow them to distribute these drugs even if they had them in stock.
About 6.5 million orphans and vulnerable children with HIV in 23 countries are slated to be affected by the cuts, according to Gawande.
Trump’s cuts affect other parts of USAID
On his first day in office, Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign assistance for “assessment of programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy.”
According to Reuters, the incoming Trump administration put about 60 senior career officials at USAID on leave. United Nations figures show that in 2023, the U.S. provided $72 billion in assistance, almost half of all humanitarian aid.