JAKARTA - The United States and President Donald Trump's administration decided to stop nearly all foreign development assistance for three months.

One of them is the largest humanitarian assistance in HIV prevention and treatment, through the Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Management, PEPFAR.

On this decision, the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed deep concern, especially for HIV funding in low- and middle-income countries. The program previously provided access to HIV therapy, which saved lives for more than 30 million people worldwide. Globally 39.9 million people live with HIV by the end of 2023.

The suspension of temporary assistance for HIV programs, according to WHO, can put HIV sufferers at the risk of disease and death that increases directly, as well as weaken efforts to prevent transmission in the community. These actions if extended can also lead to an increase in new infections and deaths.

It can also lead to setbacks in handling HIV in recent years. It also has the potential to bring the world back to the 1980s and 1990s, when millions die of HIV every year around the world, including in the United States.

With these various possible effects, WHO called on the United States government not to stop HIV drug assistance. The request is to save many global human lives.

"We ask the United States government to provide additional exceptions to ensure the provision of life-saving HIV treatment and treatment," the WHO statement said, quoted by Euronews, on Thursday, January 30, 2025.

Meanwhile, PEPFAR has worked for more than 50 countries worldwide. Over the past two decades, PEPFAR funding has saved more than 26 million lives, and currently PEPFAR provides HIV treatment for more than 20 million people worldwide with HIV, including 566,000 children under the age of 15.

Over the past year, PEPFARs with various partners, including WHO, have drawn up sustainable plans with the country for further treatment related to HIV until after 2030. With that, the sudden and prolonged termination of the program does not allow a manageable transition, and endangers the lives of millions of people.


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