The head of the UN AIDS agency is warning that the number of new HIV infections could jump more than six times by 2029 if American support of the biggest AIDS programme is dropped.
The agency says millions of people could die and more resistant strains of HIV could emerge.
UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said HIV infections have been falling in recent years, with just 1.3 million new cases recorded in 2023, a 60 per cent decline since the virus peaked in 1995.
But since President Donald Trump's announcement the US would freeze all foreign assistance for 90 days, Ms. Byanyima said officials estimate that by 2029, there could be 8.7 million people newly infected with HIV; a tenfold jump in AIDS-related deaths — to 6.3 million — and an additional 3.4 million children made orphans.
Ms. Byanyima pleaded with the Trump administration not to abruptly cut off funding.
She says the uncertainty has resulted in "panic, fear and confusion" in many of the African countries hardest hit by AIDS.
She says the freeze will cost lives if the American government doesn't change its mind and maintain its leadership," adding that it was not her place to criticise any government's policy.
Speaking in Uganda today, Ms. Byanyima said in one Kenyan county, 550 HIV workers were immediately laid off, while thousands of others in Ethiopia were terminated, leaving health officials unable to track the epidemic.
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