Trump’s Aid Cut Pushes East Africa Into HIV Crisis, Leaving Mothers And Children Without Medicines

International News: US President Donald Trump's decision to reduce aid in East Africa has put the lives of millions of people in danger. As a result, many mothers could not protect their children from HIV due to lack of necessary medicines. The infection is spreading rapidly and the situation has worsened so much that some women were forced to have abortions.

This has been revealed in the latest report of Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). It tells on the basis of conversations with doctors, nurses, patients and experts from Tanzania and Uganda how the closure of the American program Pepfar put people's lives at risk.

What is the American program Pepfar?

Pepfar, started in 2003, is America's largest global health program. Under this, millions of lives were saved in many countries including Africa. But the Trump administration has stopped half of the $6 billion set for 2025. The authors of the report say that America should immediately restore the funds, so that the hard work of the last 20 years does not go to waste.

What did the report say?

The 39 people interviewed said that the lack of medicines was causing serious infections in patients. Mothers were unable to give medicines to their children, so the newborns were born HIV positive. Many clinics were closed and patients were forced to skip doses, which further increased the risk of the medicine becoming ineffective. One clinic even reported in April that one in every four pregnant women suffering from HIV had an HIV positive child.

Who suffers the most loss?

When some relief was provided, it was limited to pregnant and breastfeeding women. But in Uganda and Tanzania, already under-represented groups such as LGBTQ+ people, sex workers and drug users were left without help and faced discrimination and humiliation in government hospitals.

Trust In HIV Treatment Shaken

The report shows that people's trust has also been shaken. They are now losing faith in governments, foreign aid and HIV medicines. There is a fear that treatment will be expensive and those selling fake treatments will become more active. A woman got an abortion due to fear of rumours. She felt that if the child turns out to be HIV positive, it will be her fault.