Congress gave money for global HIV work. The Trump administration isn't spending it

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NPR

April 4, 2026 5:00 AM ET


Studying labor law is not why Dr. Caspian Chouraya went to medical school. For more than two decades, he's worked in HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention. Now, he oversees HIV/AIDS programs in 12 African countries for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. But in recent months, Chouraya finds himself talking to legal advisors and burying himself in the law surrounding layoffs in various African countries.

This is because for months, U.S. funding has been arriving in fits and starts. Not knowing when funds will arrive is undermining one of the U.S.'s most successful global health initiatives — the worldwide fight to combat HIV/AIDS. The heart of this work is PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. It has been credited with saving 26 million lives since it was launched in 2003 under President George W. Bush.

Congress has treated this effort with special care: In 2025, it pushed back on President Trump's proposed cuts. And, in 2026, Congress appropriated far more money than Trump had requested, allocating close to $6 billion for global HIV/AIDS work, funding PEFPAR at virtually the same level as the previous fiscal year. Despite the money being available, people inside and outside the government say the State Department is deliberately withholding some of the funds.

As a result, key HIV efforts — that even the Trump administration deemed "lifesaving" — are on the brink of shutting down. This comes against the backdrop of a major deadline: This week marks the six-month timeline the Trump administration set for itself to have new health aid systems ready to go. That process is running behind schedule, which is exacerbating the financial uncertainty. That uncertainty, in turn, is making it impossible for many NGOs reliant on that money to conduct vital anti-HIV work.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2026/04/04/nx-s1-5763938/hiv-aids-pepfar-funding-delays-may-shut-down-lifesaving-aid

[CurtEastPoint]

1. I cannot begin to describe the level of hatred I have for him and all his little minions. May they be struck down with.

[applegrove]

2. The sadism is the point. Just like school shootings prepare

Americans to be careless/cruel/uncaring about children being killed. This is what Trump/MAGA/Republicans are trying to teach: how to abandon the weakest among us.