Immediate Risks and Disruptions

• Total Pause of HIV Prevention Programming: There is almost complete halt of HIV Prevention interventions that were fully funded by PEPFAR. This includes DREAMS programme targeting vulnerable adolescent girls and young women, orphans and vulnerable children and voluntary medical male circumcision. In addition, there is significant impact to other HIV prevention interventions that were largely supported by PEPFAR including PrEP for at risk populations (key populations). There is the risk of wastage of commodities related to prevention. 

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Immediate Risks and Disruptions

The U.S. decision to freeze all funding for foreign assistance has impacted HIV prevention services in several countries in Latin America, including Peru. This has led to significant disruptions in HIV treatment and PrEP programs for groups of migrants with HIV and migrant key populations. It also reduced community-led HIV prevention efforts, and decreased treatment adherence, counseling, and social support activities for migrants with HIV or at risk. Consequently, in a country that already has an increasing number of new HIV infections, there are increased risks of more new HIV infections, higher mortality rates, and a deterioration in the quality of care for migrants living with HIV.

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Government Commitment & Advocacy

• President Joseph Nyumah Boakai reaffirmed his administration's commitment to supporting people living with HIV, emphasizing the importance of implementing the Safeguard Policy Exit Roadmap recommendations to the Global Fund by December 2024 to regain confidence and support and pledged timely and necessary assistance to combat HIV.

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Immediate Risks and Disruptions

• Termination of CSO Funding: Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) received termination letters on 27 February, leading to significant disruptions in HIV services.
• Service Disruptions: The closure of drop-in centers for key populations has disrupted HIV testing, treatment, care, and support services. There are challenges in referring clients to government facilities, as service providers are no longer working, and there has been no proper handover of client files.

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For years, Namibia’s HIV response has been supported by US funding, particularly through the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). These programs have provided lifesaving drugs for HIV treatment, prevention services, and essential socio-economic empowerment initiatives, especially for adolescent girls and young women and the most marginalized and at-risk groups. 

However, given recent decisions by the U.S. to freeze and cut foreign assistance, Namibians struggling to fill the funding gaps. An emergency humanitarian waiver issued by the U.S. Government allowed for funding to flow to some projects and organisations (government and non-governmental) – but as the funds were not transferred into their accounts, they faced with serious cash-flow challenges and were at risk\ of contravening the Labour laws of the country.

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• Funding Termination: On 26 February, about 40 USAID-funded health projects in South Africa received termination letters, leading to the cancellation of these projects. This has resulted in the cessation of services provided by approximately 8,493 PEPFAR-funded staff who were involved in HIV response activities.

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Immediate Risks and Disruptions

• The freeze has exacerbated chronic supply chain challenges, leading to more prominent condom stock-outs.
• Staff Terminations: Some US Government implementing partners have issued termination letters to staff due to cash flow challenges caused by the funding freeze.
• Service Disruptions: HIV prevention programs, especially those targeting key populations, have been disrupted. 

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As of February 2025, the HIV programmes in Ukraine are facing several challenges and risks:

• Potential Stockouts of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART): There are 118,444 Ukrainian people living with HIV (PLHIV) in government-controlled areas receiving ART, with 93,893 (79%) on a TLD (tenofovir disoproxil, lamivudine and dolutegravir)-based regimen. The current TLD stock covers 5.2 months, varying by region. The 28 February Procurement and Supply Management (PSM) working group meeting, hosted by Public Health Centre, highlighted risks to TLD stocks; stockouts pose a direct threat to the continuity of HIV treatment program. The delivery of TLD drugs in the amount of 168,397 packs (15,155,730 tablets), purchased with PEPFAR project funds under COP 23, is on its way from India to Poland. However, there is a potential issue regarding the route from Poland to Ukraine.

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In Tajikistan, 61% of the national HIV program is funded by external sources. The US Government funding amounts to approximately 20% and is the second largest contribution after Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which represent around 40% of the total resources. Contributions from other donors are negligible. 

The suspension of USAID funding has had a profound impact on civil society organizations (CSOs) that provide essential HIV services. 

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Eleven UNAIDS’ Country Offices submitted new reports on the impact of the freeze of US foreign assistance on their country AIDS responses during the week of 24-28 February. As of 28 February, at least one status report had been received from 59 countries, including 79% of all PEPFAR-funded countries and an additional 15 countries that receive US support for their AIDS responses.

Last week, the U.S. Government issued termination letters for many agreements held by USAID. This decision is expected to significantly alter the situation reported by countries in the coming days. For example, in South Africa dozens of USAID implementing partners received termination letters on 26 February. These decisions will affect a large proportion of the 15,374 PEPFAR-funded staff working on the national HIV response in South Africa. Managers of critical programmes have said they have been given too little time to transition from U.S. funding to other sources of funding.

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New funding for the HIV project implemented by FHI360 – previously supported by U.S. funding - in Mali has been allocated. Once the funds are deployed, the project will be able to resume its activities.

This is significant as the work of associations and NGOs had nearly come to a standstill due to the suspension of U.S. funding. 

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Honduras' HIV response is experiencing critical disruptions due to the U.S. funding pause for many HIV services. Approximately 100 healthcare workers had stopped providing lifesaving services following the initial U.S. stop-work-order last month, reducing access to essential HIV services like testing, prevention, and treatment for people living with HIV. These interruptions in access to HIV services create great individual – and public - health risks. While some affected healthcare workers were instructed that they could resume work on 24 February, it is not clear how many of them returned to work.  It is estimated that approximately 20 000 people live with HIV in Honduras. The country’s HIV response relies on external financial support for prevention among key populations. The Global Fund, PEPFAR and USAID have been supporting the country’s efforts to end AIDS as a public health threat.

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Sixteen new reports on the impact of the freeze of US foreign assistance on the global AIDS response were received from UNAIDS’ Country Offices during the week of 17-21 February. As of 21 February, at least one status report had been received from 55 countries, including 42 PEPFAR-supported and 13 that receive some US support.

Reports received over the past week show that waivers have led to the resumption of select clinical services, such as HIV treatment and prevention of vertical transmission, in many countries that are highly dependent on US funding. However, the durability of this resumption is unclear amid multiple reports that key US government systems and staff responsible for paying implementing partners are either offline or working at greatly reduced capacity.

Critical layers of national AIDS responses are ineligible for waivers, including many HIV prevention and community-led services for key populations and adolescent girls and young women. In addition, data collection and analysis services have been disrupted in numerous countries. Reports from UNAIDS’ Country Offices note that these interruptions have eroded the overall quantity and quality of HIV prevention, testing and treatment services. Human resources for health at health facilities are facing increased workloads, and patients are experiencing increased waiting times to receive life-saving services. US government statements to UN system organizations suggest US-funded programmes focused on gender equality and transgender populations may not resume.

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Due to the U.S. Government’s freeze of foreign assistance, 15,374 PEPFAR-funded HIV response staff across national and 27 priority districts have been affected, with an estimated HR cost of ZAR 4.6 billion (~USD 250 million), and approximately 222,000 people living with HIV, including 7,445 children under the age of 15, face disruptions in their daily antiretroviral therapy supplies.

Documented Impact on Services as of 20 February

• PEPFAR-funded Projects: Last week, PEPFAR-funded projects in South Africa received waiver letters, prompting a review of their activities. The CDC has communicated with beneficiary organizations, while USAID-supported partners remain closed.
• Service Disruptions: The closure of the TB/HIV Care clinic in Tshwane, Pretoria, has significantly impacted people living with HIV, particularly the homeless, of whom 70% are drug users.
• The halt in US Government support has led to a pause in the Ritshidze (“Saving Our Lives”) Community-led monitoring project. Established in 2019, the project monitors more than 400 public clinics and community healthcare centers, located in 27 priority districts and 8 provinces of South Africa. The facilities were chosen to cover nearly half of all people living with HIV on treatment in the country, with a focus on sites with large treatment cohorts and where the data show poor linkage and retention rates.

Human Rights, Key, and Vulnerable Populations

• People who use drugs: Service disruptions pose a high risk of needle sharing and antiretroviral interruptions due to the lack of referral letters required by some government facilities. This increases the risk of HIV viral rebound and transmission among the estimated 80,000 people who use drugs in the country.
• LGBTQ+ communities: Facilities like Engage Men’s Health, which support gay and bisexual men and men who have sex with men, remain closed. This closure heightens the risk of stigma, discrimination, and potential resurgence of new HIV infections among these marginalized populations.

Government convening and mitigation measures

• ART Dispensation: The Department of Health has implemented a 6-month antiretroviral therapy dispensation for eligible patients to reduce clinic visits and ease the workload on health workers.
• Telemedicine and Digital Health: Efforts are being made to strengthen telemedicine and digital health platforms for HIV prevention and treatment services.
• Private Sector and Civil Society Partnerships: The Department of Health is encouraging partnerships to support key populations' HIV services.

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The United States Government (USG) support to Zambia is estimated at $600 million annually, of which $367 million was committed for the national HIV response for 2025 under the Presidential Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

The USG pause in foreign assistance has caused significant disruption to HIV services in Zambia, with HIV prevention services being hardest hit. HIV Combination prevention for adolescent girls and young women as well as for other marginalized and vulnerable communities are most impacted.

A total of 32 drop-in centers that provide HIV services to over 20,000 key populations living with HIV on ART in 7 out of 10 provinces have been shut down. Additionally, USG-supported DREAMS centers for adolescent girls and young women in 21 districts have been closed. Further, 16 standalone centers providing voluntary medical male circumcision have also stopped operating. Almost half (49%) of the PrEP services in Zambia are USG supported.

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Indonesia has had to pause many programmes due to the U.S. funding freeze.  All community led activities funded through USAID have been paused and prevention and linkages to treatment for around 30% of men who have sex with men (MSM) in Jakarta have been affected. In addition, the expansion of PrEP programmes and a test pilot of long-acting HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) have been halted for now.

The HIV epidemic in Indonesia is mostly concentrated among key populations (MSM, sex workers, people who inject drugs and transgender people) except in Tanah Papua, where the epidemic is generalized. There are nearly 80 000 MSM in Indonesia’s capital.

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The HIV programmes in the Dominican Republic are currently facing several challenges and disruptions, primarily due to shifts in US funding and political dynamics. Here are the key points:

PEPFAR-Funded Programmes:

PEPFAR-funded HIV programmes, which were stopped, are now being resumed. For instance, while services for people living with HIV have already been opened, including services offered by civil society, community support, and support for human resources at the government level among others, the opening process has been slow. And while PEPFAR-funded HIV care programmes are resuming, other activities such as PrEP for key populations and Community-Led Monitoring remain on hold.

Furthermore, the new Global Fund grant started in January 2025 has not yet been implemented at the site level.

Service Disruptions:

The PEPFAR program in the country is mainly focusing on the Haitian migrant population and therefore, the suspension of funding has raised concerns regarding Haitian migrants not having access to their treatment programmes.

The absence of USAID-funded staff and the suspension of transportation services that helped patients reach healthcare centers may impact service accessibility.

There have been debates in the media about the need to maintain internationally funded HIV programs, particularly those targeting Haitian immigrants.

As of 17 February 2024, UNAIDS had received at least one status report from 52 countries (39 PEPFAR-funded and 13 countries that receive some US support). The 39 countries represent 71% of all PEPFAR-funded countries. 

Collectively, these status reports reveal a range of significant impacts resulting from the US Government’s decision to freeze and review all US foreign assistance (see the chart below). The situation continues to evolve rapidly as waivers are requested, issued and implemented.

UNAIDS is also working at the country level to understand exactly which HIV services are not operational, and which populations are not being reached. It is essential to maintain high-impact HIV testing, treatment and prevention programmes and community-led services.

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The U.S. decision in January to freeze all funding for U.S. foreign assistance, including for the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has had a critical impact on several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, exacerbating existing challenges in the HIV response. More than 20 countries in the region rely on these funds to deliver HIV treatment, prevention, and care services, including community-led services focused on the most discriminated and marginalized communities.

Following the decision to freeze all U.S. funding for foreign assistance, the U.S. Government issued a waiver allowing some funding to support lifesaving services. However, confusion about which services may be supported and a lack of support for some services means the situation remains critical, posing a serious risk of setbacks in the AIDS response in the region. While some key treatment services and prevention of vertical transmission have been gradually coming back into operation, most countries have been facing disruptions in their HIV treatment programs.

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On 20 January 2025 the United States announced a 90-day freeze on US foreign aid which has had a devastating impact on people living with and affected by HIV, on the people and organizations supporting them and on the global response to HIV as a whole.  

Community organizations have been particularly impacted by the freeze in funding. Community healthcare workers are losing their jobs, clinics are having to be shut down and, as a result, people in need of HIV testing or prevention or who are living with HIV and dependent on daily antiretroviral medicine are unable to access the life-saving HIV services they need. 

On 10 February, UNAIDS convened an emergency meeting with community organizations to monitor the impact of the unfolding crisis. Community groups reported that HIV services around the world are facing serious challenges. Some are grinding to a halt. Supplies of antiretroviral medication, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and condoms have been disrupted, leaving many without essential tools of HIV treatment and prevention.  

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On 20 January 2025 the United States announced a 90-day freeze on US foreign aid which has had a devastating impact on people living with and affected by HIV, on the people and organizations supporting them and on the global response to HIV as a whole.  

Community organizations have been particularly impacted by the freeze in funding. Community healthcare workers are losing their jobs, clinics are having to be shut down and, as a result, people in need of HIV testing or prevention or who are living with HIV and dependent on daily antiretroviral medicine are unable to access the life-saving HIV services they need. 

On 10 February, UNAIDS convened an emergency meeting with community organizations to monitor the impact of the unfolding crisis. Community groups reported that HIV services around the world are facing serious challenges. Some are grinding to a halt. Supplies of antiretroviral medication, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and condoms have been disrupted, leaving many without essential tools of HIV treatment and prevention.  

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There is minimal disruption to HIV services in Malawi. People living with HIV are receiving services. People living with HIV who go to facilities that have been are closed are being referred to government services that are open. Early last week, in response to UNAIDS’ advocacy, the government issued a press release assuring the public that HIV services will continue uninterrupted. Also last week the government developed a contingency plan, which will form Part B of the ongoing work to develop a Sustainability Plan for Malawi. The government issued a circular of the activities it will prioritize going forward. It has redeployed its staff to fill the positions that are vacant because of the stop order. In general services are ongoing. 

Unfortunately, PrEP and long-acting injectables are not part of the package the government will prioritize. Civil Society groups are concerned about the omission of prevention interventions beyond treatment and PrEP for pregnant and breastfeed women. UNAIDS is working with other international partners to see if they would be willing to support PrEP and long-acting injectables.

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The Ministry of Health in Cameroon has developed a set of mitigation measures to ensure continuity of HIV services to people living with HIV and vulnerable populations that could be impacted by the suspension of United Stated Government funding. The mitigation measures describe immediate, medium and long-term actions that also represent an accelerated move towards sustainability.

The minister has issued a circular to all regional delegates and directors of hospitals to take appropriate measures within their authority to ensure continuation of HIV, TB and Malaria services with priority given to the most vulnerable, these include reallocation of health personnel and readjusting of workload to fill the gaps of the 2332 personnel that were under PEPFAR funding. The objective is to ensure that there would be no interruption of services to anyone. Talks are ongoing with the Global Fund country team and other partners to find possibilities of reallocation of resources.

Overall National Response

A Cabinet memo on the current situation and recommendations for the government of Kenya (GOK) to mitigate the situation has been developed by Ministry of Health and domestic resource allocation is a key recommendation as well as fast-tracking the development of the ongoing HIV sustainability roadmap.

A special national HIV inter coordination committee (ICC) that includes CSOs, communities, private sector, UN Agencies and government stakeholders was convened by UNSDCC on Friday, January 31st to assess the impact and suggest solutions.

Commodity Security

UNAIDS’ Country Office (UCO) has been part of the commodity security meetings.

All requests to distribute PEPFAR-supported products in country through USAID are on hold until further guidance is provided to unfreeze the initial communication.

Products that were to be distributed in January 2025 under USAID/PEPFAR include ARVs (Nevirapine syrup, Dolutegravir 10 mg and 50 mg). For these products, health facilities had a stock balance between 2 to 4 months by 31st December 2025.

The country may start experiencing erratic supply of Nevirapine syrup and Dolutegravir (DTG) 50 mg towards the end of March and May 2025, respectively, if the stop work order is not lifted.

The current stocks at Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) for DTG 10 mg will sustain the country beyond June 2025.

Viral load and EID products are mainly procured through PEPFAR support. This will be adversely affected if the stop order is not lifted as soon as possible as the quantity under the Global Fund is minimal, targeting specific point of care testing sites.

Stop Gap Measures for Commodity Security

GOK will be required to allocate funds for the distribution of these products from Missions for Essential Drugs and Supplies (MEDS) to health facilities. The estimated cost by KEMSA is approximately USD 10 million.

Procurement and delivery of health products will be facilitated by the Global Fund and government counterpart financing. Additionally, discussion to front load commodities under Global Fund year two will be initiated.

If the stop order continues, GOK will be required to allocate funds to cover the deficit.

Discussions to allow Government to distribute HIV commodities under MEDS is to be initiated if the stop work order is not lifted. (To note, as of February 2, 2025, there has been a reprieve with the new circular on waiver for administration costs for procurement and supplies of essential drugs. The circular is however yet to be implemented as it is a new directive)

Human Resources for Health

All PEPFAR-supported medical personnel/health workers have been requested to stop work as per the stop work order effected in PEPFAR supported counties and facilities.

All PEPFAR-supported implementing partners (CSOs, FBOs, UN) and sub-grantees have been requested to stop work and consequently, staff have been requested to proceed on leave for the duration of the stop work order (90 days).

In some of the counties, the county government has recalled all health workers who are on leave to cushion the situation.

UCO programs supported by PEPFAR through COAG (Community led monitoring and Strategic Information) have been halted.

Consequently, the five UCO CLM partners (CSOs, KP led organizations) have stopped work and over 148 staff IP staff have been affected, and service delivery constrained.

Way Forward

UCO to consider supporting a national communities’ meeting to discuss the impact on service delivery and make recommendations to national and county governments.

As mentioned above, as of February 2, 2025, there was a reprieve with the new circular on waiver for administration costs for procurement and supplies of essential drugs, including continued support for human resources. Hopefully, measures will be implemented this coming week to avert potential risks.

Funding for the HIV Response in Botswana

Prior to the U.S pause of foreign assistance, the Government of Botswana funded two thirds of its HIV response (approximately US$ 90 - 95 M). The remaining costs were covered by the U.S. Government (US$ 55 M via the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, PEPFAR, and US$ 12M via the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria).

Immediate Risks

The pause and stop order will:

1. Undermine Botswana’s ability to fully achieve UNAIDS’ 95-95-95 targets and the efforts to finding the missing 5-2-2 in Botswana. That means reaching an additional five percent of all people living with HIV with testing so they are aware of their HIV status; ensuring that an additional two percent of all people who are living with HIV and are aware on treatment and ensuring an additional two percent of all those aware of their status and on treatment have their viral load suppressed.
2. Take away safe spaces for key populations (KPs) and adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) and increase their vulnerability to HIV-related sigma and discrimination, gender-based violence, mental health problems and other related social ills.
3. Reduce access to early diagnosis and treatment for HIV which leads to health complications and higher default rates for treatment adherence which correlates to a lack of viral suppression.

Impact on Civil Societies and Communities

In Botswana, the impact of the pause on U.S. foreign assistance and related stop order has already affected delivery of HIV prevention and treatment services by civil society organisations (CSOs) and will have implications for the entire system across the national HIV response.

UNAIDS consulted with a significant number of CSOs to establish the impact of the pause and stop order on the provision of services. Additionally, a task force set up by NAHPA and the Ministry of Health and cochaired by UNAIDS met to establish a complete picture of disruptions not just for CSOs but also within MOH and NAHPA where a total of about 207 positions are funded by PEPFAR.

Most of the affected CSOs are those providing some services for key and vulnerable populations (AGYW, MSM, SW, PLWHIV). The government continues to provide services and encourages the affected CSOs to refer and link clients to government facilities. While CSOs have been funded to provide demand creation activities, only three of those consulted have clinics or drop-in centres that were considered safe by the aforementioned population groups. They offer HIV counselling and testing Services, ART dispensing, PrEP dispensing, adherence and psychosocial support, condom distribution and referral and linkages to other services. The stop order has led to the closure of these CSO clinics and drop-in centres and disrupted service delivery.

Government Response

Botswana’s government health facilities continue to operate and provide services. The Ministry of Health issued a press release on 29 January assuring Batswana living with HIV that the pause of U.S. assistance will not affect the availability of ARVs as they are directly procured by the Government of Botswana. This was followed by another press release on 6 February further assuring continuity of services.

Mitigation Measures

Through the Joint Oversight Committee, a task team will be established to monitor developments and ensure that HIV services are not disrupted, clients are referred and linked to care at government facilities and that CSO’s providing services will receive domestic funding.

On 06 February 2025, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy (GHSD), which oversees global implementation of PEPFAR, issued detailed guidance on activities approved under the PEPFAR 90-Day Limited Waiver. This guidance encourages PEPFAR implementing agencies to take necessary actions to expedite the resumption of these services. This guidance and the related contractual and financial support from the U.S. Government is being urgently conveyed to PEPFAR implementing agencies and country partners to expedite resumption of services and related activities.

Link to guidance: HIV Care & Treatment and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission Activities Approved Under PEPFAR Limited Waiver

The pause of U.S. foreign assistance on Ethiopia will affect many areas of development, however its impact on Ethiopia’s national HIV response is particularly severe.

Ethiopia is on track to reach the global 95-95-95 targets: with 90% of people in Ethiopia living with HIV being aware of their HIV status; 94% of those diagnosed with HIV receiving antiretroviral (ARV) therapy; and 96% of people on ARV therapy achieving viral suppression.  ARV treatment is currently provided to 503,000 people via 1,400 health facilities across the country.   However, with ongoing challenges to the country health system and socio-economic development, Ethiopia remains reliant on external donors for its HIV response. 

SERVICE DISRUPTION: Pause of U.S. assistance to community programs and drop in centres serving women, young girls and priority populations at higher risk of HIV infection means tens of thousands of individuals will no longer be able to access critical services such as HIV testing, antiretroviral treatment, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention, and screenings for tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections and support to address gender-based violence.  The closure of many drop-in centres and the termination of outreach workers’ and peer educators’ contracts will effectively shut off support to vulnerable groups.

Table: Breakdown of Service Disruption in three regions in Ethiopia: Addis Ababa; Oromia and Gambella

SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS: The funding freeze has caused critical delays in the supply of essential HIV services, including testing kits and other resources. Notably, PEPFAR is responsible for 100% of the procurement of viral load and Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) reagents. The interruption in funding is limiting the availability of these crucial supplies, undermining the program’s ability to conduct timely viral load and EID testing, which are essential for effective patient monitoring and treatment.

REDUCED CAPACITY FOR HEALTHCARE SUPPORT: The pause threatens to stall efforts to build local healthcare capacity. It impacts the training and support of health workers, slowing progress in Ethiopia’s fight against HIV. This reduction in capacity limits the ability of healthcare professionals to respond effectively to the growing HIV epidemic. The disruption of ICAP’s capacity building, M&E, and clinical mentoring threatens care for advanced HIV patients, putting Ethiopia’s progress at risk. The freeze is also likely to scale back key prevention programs, including outreach, education, and services for key populations, worsening the epidemic

HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEM DISRUPTION: Ethiopia's Health Information System is severely affected by the stop work order. The termination of 10,000 data clerks, who are essential for entering ART data into the health information management system, is compromising data management, particularly in tracking lost-to-follow-up cases. This disrupts key national activities, such as HIV estimations and studies of key populations. Furthermore, the cessation of the HIV surveys and surveillances, and HIV Estimation Technical Working Group (TWG) which includes CDC, USAID, and PEPFAR undermines the accuracy of HIV data and threatens the continuity of critical HIV data management systems.

HUMAN RESOURCES IMPACT:  Ministry of Health shared that 5,000 public health workers’ contracts funded by U.S. assistance from all regions in Ethiopia have been terminated.  These health workers are supporting Ethiopia’s HIV response – improving regional capacity to accelerate progress towards Ending AIDS.   While the government of Ethiopia will take over the gap, the sudden loss of programmatic experience and the transition period will be rough.

ACTIONS TO ADDRESS THE SITUATION: On 4 February 2025, The Ministry of Health of Ethiopia issued a circular to all regional health bureau to assure regional health offices that the government will step in to manage the work that was performed by the US-funded personnel in order to ensure programme continuity. 

UNAIDS Ethiopia together with WHO will be convening a situation assessment briefing on 11 February 2025 with government, civil society organizations and development partners to identify solutions to address gaps in the HIV, TB, Malaria and health and community systems responses in Ethiopia.

In response to several requests for information from the media and civil society organizations, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in Brazil confirms that the Unified Health System (SUS) guarantees universal and free uninterrupted access to health services, including HIV diagnosis, treatment and prevention, to all people living in Brazil.

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❝We have a ‘People Living with HIV Forum’ in every district, representing the 1.5 million Ugandans living with HIV. The past two weeks have been incredibly difficult since President Trump issued his first executive order halting U.S. government funding for HIV programs.

For… pic.twitter.com/6WK2QY8o8O

— CEHURD Uganda (@cehurduganda) February 3, 2025