Addis Ababa, Ethiopia:
President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend US foreign funding could result in the deaths of millions from AIDS, the head of the UN’s disease program, which was warned on Sunday. The United States is the world’s largest provider of official development assistance, with most funding being directed through the United States Organization for International Development (USAID).
Trump ordered US foreign aid to be frozen for three months in January, with global humanitarians scrambled to deal with fallout.
“It’s dramatic in many countries,” UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanima told AFP.
“We need to sound the alarm so that it’s very clear that this is a big part of[the fundraising for AIDS relief]. If it’s gone, people will die.”
The US move included a 90-day suspension of all work by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), but his administration later issued a drug exemption under the program. did.
Increase in deaths of “10 times”
According to an analysis by the AIDS Research Foundation (AMFAR), the program supports more than 20 million HIV patients and 270,000 healthcare workers.
Citing the UNAIDS estimate, “additional deaths increase by 10 times” was able to increase to 6.3 million over five years.
“Or we could have seen a rise in new infections up to 8.7 million people over the same period,” she said.
The US says “life-saving treatment” will be exempt from freezing, but frontline workers in Africa say facilities have already been closed.
Speaking about the bystanders at the African Union Summit in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, Byanyima said she had discussed the issue with leaders and encouraged her to move from foreign funds towards the use of domestic revenue. Ta.
However, she pointed out that many African countries suffer from huge debts — some “more than 50% of total revenue,” and even the ability to close potential shortages is unfree. I’ve done it.
“Part of the answer is to push it very hard for immediate and comprehensive debt restructuring,” she said.
“For many of them, debt is busy with what can be spent on health and education.”
Established in 1961, USAID’s annual budget has a budget of over $40 billion and is used to support development, health and humanitarian programs around the world, especially in poor countries.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published by Syndicate Feed.)
