Posted on August 28, 2017
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation News
"U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to cut foreign aid supporting HIV/AIDS treatment could cost 9 million years of lost life in South Africa and Ivory Coast, according to a global study released on Monday.
In the first study to measure the impact of cuts in global investment in HIV care in terms of health and costs, scientists found sky-rocketing deaths in the African nations would far outweigh savings.
South Africa has the highest prevalence of HIV worldwide, with 19 percent of its adult population carrying the virus in 2015, according to UNAIDS, with a total of 7 million HIV-infected people.
Ivory Coast counted 460,000 HIV-infected people in that same year.
Trump's proposed budget for 2018, made public in May, envisions cuts to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program, a cornerstone of U.S. global health assistance, which supports HIV/AIDS treatment, testing and counselling for millions of people worldwide."
