Trump’s abandonment of the fight against HIV comes as researchers say they’re on the cusp of victory

PEPFAR State Department protest outside of the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Tens of thousands of deaths and new HIV infections will be the direct result of Donald Trump’s abandonment of PEPFAR and other programs dedicated to the global fight against AIDS, health professionals closely associated with the effort say.

The president’s desertion of PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, in particular, will have long-lasting and possibly catastrophic implications for finally eradicating the disease.

The irony of the cuts at exactly this time is stinging, those same health professionals say: The fight against HIV/AIDS was poised for big wins that could finally bring the disease to its knees.

“We imagined we would be in a different world right now,” said Dr. Leila Mansoor, a senior research scientist at the Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in Durban, South Africa. “And instead we’re moving backwards at warp speed.”

Two recent developments have been giving researchers and health experts hope in the global fight against HIV/AIDS: new vaccine trials and the twice-yearly PrEP injection called lenacapavir.

Both could radically transform the epidemic and possibly end it within years.

Mansoor had planned to…

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