EXPLAINED: Why 6 Million People Could Die If US Funding Cuts Persists
Following the decision by US President Donald Trump to remove foreign aid payments, the world could lose six million people over the next four years.
This is according to Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
Byanyima warned that the world is on the verge of another HIV/AIDS pandemic.
She argues that if the United States does not restore help, the gains gained in treatment and prevention over the last two decades will be reversed.
#VIH/#SIDA « Si l'aide américaine n'est pas rétablie et qu'aucun autre financement ne vient combler ce vide, alors, dans les quatre prochaines années, 6,3 millions de décès supplémentaires liés au sida sont à prévoir. » – @Winnie_Byanyima, Directrice exécutive d'#ONUSIDA pic.twitter.com/WJM9I1LmDC
— ONU Genève (@ONUGeneve) March 24, 2025
“If US aid funding is not restored, the world is at risk of the AIDS pandemic resurging globally, losing the progress in HIV treatment and prevention that we’ve made over the last 25 years,” Byanyima explained.
According to Byanyima, there is a danger of an increase in infections, with an estimated 2,000 new HIV infections each day and over six million additional deaths over the following four years.
For over two decades, the US Government has been the biggest champion of the global HIV response. The current disruptions in US funding for PEPFAR and other programs are having a devastating impact.
— Winnie Byanyima (@Winnie_Byanyima) March 20, 2025
If PEPFAR is not fully resumed, and other resources are not found for the HIV… pic.twitter.com/ApBrIduQ1s
Shortly after his inauguration in January 2025, Trump withdrew foreign aid via executive order, affecting many countries that rely on it, including Kenya.
The abrupt removal of US foreign aid by President Donald Trump has a profound impact on worldwide HIV/AIDS initiatives.
Programmes such as PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), which has saved millions of lives since its start, have experienced setbacks.
PEPFAR provides a wide range of services to HIV/AIDS patients and support groups.
It offered life-saving HIV care and treatment, as well as services for preventing mother-to-child transmission, HIV testing, and HIV care and treatment.
However, since the pullout, patients have struggled to obtain treatment and care, putting themselves and others in danger of the disease.
To address the problem and keep it from reaching epidemic proportions, Byanyima has urged the US administration to reconsider resuming help.
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“We urge a reconsideration and urgent restoration of life-saving services,” the UNAIDS boss said.
The HIV pandemic officially began in 1981, when the first AIDS cases were recorded in the United States.
The pandemic has been serious, infecting millions around the world. UNAIDS estimates that by 2023, nearly 42.3 million individuals would have died from HIV-related causes.
At its peak in 1997, there were approximately 3.3 million new infections each year, however, global efforts have dramatically reduced this number. Trump’s move could however hamper this progress.
EXPLAINED: Why 6 Million People Could Die If US Funding Cuts Persists
