A new report by Physicians for Human Rights has revealed the devastating human cost of US aid cuts to HIV programs in East Africa. The disruption to PEPFAR funding, a flagship US health initiative, caused critical drug shortages in Uganda and Tanzania, reversing decades of progress. Interviews with health workers and patients detail rising infections, drug shortages, and cases of babies born with HIV after their mothers could not access medication. According to the report, clinics closed, patients rationed doses, and some at-risk groups were left without services due to the loss of funding. In one instance, fear of losing access to antiretrovirals led a woman to terminate her pregnancy. Experts warn that without immediate congressional action to restore full funding, decades of progress in HIV prevention and treatment could be lost.
The Guardian
