The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday listed Nigeria among eight countries that may soon face a shortage of HIV treatments due to the United States’ President Donald Trump administration’s decision to suspend U.S. foreign aid.
WHO noted that the cut in aid has ‘significantly disrupted’ the supply of these treatments in the affected countries.
According to a report by WHO’s Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, Nigeria, Haiti, Kenya, Lesotho, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Ukraine could exhaust their supply of HIV treatments in the coming months.
“The disruptions to HIV programmes could undo 20 years of progress,” WHO Director-General Ghebreyesus was quoted to have said at a press conference.
He added that this could lead to over 10 million additional HIV cases and three million HIV-related deaths.
Efforts to tackle HIV, polio, malaria and tuberculosis have been impacted by the U.S. foreign aid pause implemented by President Trump shortly after he took office in January.
The agency said the WHO-coordinated Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network, with over 700 sites worldwide, also faces imminent shutdown. This comes at a time when measles is making a comeback in the United States.
The United States has a “responsibility to ensure that if it withdraws direct funding for countries, it’s done in an orderly and humane way that allows them to find alternative sources of funding,” Ghebreyesus said on Monday.
The agency said in a separate statement that funding shortages could also force 80% of WHO-supported essential healthcare services in Afghanistan to a close.
As of March 4, 167 health facilities had shut down due to funding shortages, and without urgent intervention, over 220 more facilities could close by June.
The United States’ plans to exit the WHO have also forced the UN agency, which typically receives about a fifth of its annual funding from the U.S., to freeze hiring and initiate budget cuts.
The WHO said on Monday that it plans to cut its funding target for emergency operations to $872 million from $1.2 billion in the 2026-2027 budget period.
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