The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has approved an “Emergency Humanitarian Waiver” to ensure continued access to US-funded HIV treatment across 55 countries, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS has announced.
In a statement on Wednesday, UNAIDS noted that over 20 million people living with HIV—two-thirds of all individuals receiving treatment globally—are directly supported by the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the world’s leading HIV initiative.
UNAIDS collaborates with global and national partners to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.
“UNAIDS welcomes this waiver from the US government, which ensures that millions of people living with HIV can continue to receive life-saving HIV medication during the assessment of US foreign development assistance.
“This urgent decision recognises PEPFAR’s critical role in the AIDS response and restores hope to people living with HIV,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima.
The US Department of State recently announced an executive order implementing an immediate 90-day pause on all foreign assistance, including funding and services supported by PEPFAR.
The executive order, which calls for a “90-day pause in United States foreign development assistance to assess programmatic efficiencies and consistency with US foreign policy,” was among the first major foreign policy decisions of the new administration.
However, UNAIDS stated that the waiver allows for the continuation or resumption of “life-saving humanitarian assistance,” covering essential HIV treatment and medical services, as well as supplies needed to deliver such assistance.
“UNAIDS will continue working to ensure that all people living with or affected by HIV receive care and that key components of PEPFAR’s life-saving efforts—including service delivery, HIV prevention, and support for orphans and vulnerable children—are maintained.
“UNAIDS is mobilising and convening partners, governments, and communities globally to assess and mitigate the impact of the funding pause on essential HIV services.
“We urge President Donald J. Trump to prioritise US leadership in the global HIV response to achieve the shared goal of ending AIDS,” the statement added.
On Tuesday, the World Health Organisation expressed deep concern over the implications of the funding pause for HIV programmes in low- and middle-income countries, warning that it could jeopardise life-saving therapy for over 30 million people worldwide.
At the end of 2023, an estimated 39.9 million people were living with HIV globally.
WHO cautioned that prolonged funding delays could “put people living with HIV at immediate risk of illness and death, undermine prevention efforts, and reverse decades of progress, potentially taking the world back to the 1980s and 1990s when millions died from HIV annually, including in the United States.”
The global health body also warned that halting funds for HIV programmes could “set back scientific advances, disrupt partnerships, and weaken public health initiatives, including innovative diagnostics, affordable medicines, and community-based HIV care models.”
“We call on the United States government to approve additional exemptions to safeguard the delivery of life-saving HIV treatment and care,” WHO stated.
