World

UN: Global HIV Funding Falls to Lowest in Nearly Two Decades

Is Trump dismantling a life-saving program for political gain or cutting a bloated entitlement?

Published 1 hour ago

UN: Global HIV Funding Falls to Lowest in Nearly Two Decades

Story

Above: An activist's palm during an awareness campaign to observe World AIDS Day in Kolkata on Dec. 1, 2022. Image credit: Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

The Spin

Anti-Trump narrative

Trump's cuts to PEPFAR have shuttered over 1,700 clinics, laid off 16,000 workers and gutted prevention services worldwide. A program credited with saving 26 million lives is being dismantled to satisfy ideological demands around DEI and reproductive rights. Reversing decades of progress against HIV for political points is a catastrophic trade-off.

Peter Tatchell on X Guardian

Pro-Trump narrative

PEPFAR ballooned into a $6.5 billion-a-year entitlement riddled with corruption, inflated overheads and ideological mission creep far beyond its original emergency mandate. Documented fraud in Zambia, Kenya and Mozambique shows billions were pilfered while the lobby stayed silent. African nations are capable of managing their own HIV programs. Cutting wasteful middlemen is responsible governance.

Acclaimed Journalist on X Heritage Foundation