HIV-AIDS Cure Latest News 2017: Trump Budget Cuts Could Affect Fight Against Disease
Any drastic budget cuts that President Donald Trump plans to make could affect the fight against HIV-AIDS. A team of experts warned that reducing the resources coming from the United States could reverse the progress already made against the disease amid reports that the American president plans to focus more on defense instead of global aid.
According to reports, Trump will be trimming funds given to programs, research and institutions like the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will also lose some $242 million and it is increasingly concerning for experts and health workers in the fight against AIDS.
"Without resources, we will not be able to do what needs to be done," Dr. Linda-Gail Bekker, president of the International AIDS Society said, adding that the White House plan has caused anxiety and stress among HIV-AIDS workers.
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Bekker, however, remains hopeful that Congress won't approve the Trump administration's proposals for diverting funds.
At the 2017 Biennial World Conference summit, HIV-AIDS experts also expressed their sentiments against Trump's budget cuts. America is considered as the "largest and most important donor in HIV response" and some experts fear that losing funding could usher another round of devastating global infection.
But as Washington will still deliberate on the budget, PEPFAR recently released an encouraging press release that indicated how four African countries will nearly achieve keeping HIV-AIDS spread under control. These have been sites that used to have high numbers of HIV-AIDS cases. Through a concerted effort between PEPFAR and other agencies, infections have nearly been reduced to half.
"We are actually shrinking the pandemic in the future by decreasing the number of new infections," Ambassador Deborah Birx, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and special representative for global health diplomacy, said. "We are doing that without a vaccine or a cure."
