President Trump’s administration has faced criticism from global‑health experts after a recent study revealed widespread disruptions to HIV services for pregnant women and children. The study, conducted by the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) with Johns Hopkins University, surveyed 166 organizations that received PEPFAR funding in 2025 across 46 countries.
Disruptions reported despite stated priorities
While the administration announced last September that mother‑to‑child HIV prevention would be protected from funding cuts, 63% of respondents said their services were disrupted. Twenty‑two percent said they had to end those prevention services entirely.
“Even if the administration’s intention was to not touch these programs, PEPFAR awards generally aren’t specific to a single task,” said Elise Lankiewicz, senior policy associate at amfAR. “There was really no way to protect very singular parts of the system while dismantling others.”
Impact on clinics and patients
The study notes that 1,714 health clinics previously supported by PEPFAR closed last year. Dr. Theopista Masenge, who was forced to stop a Tanzanian pediatric HIV program in January 2025, warned that children and mothers are now facing poorer quality care and reduced access to early infant diagnosis.
“People are not going back to the facility to pick up their medication because they feel like the services have really become worse,” Masenge, now president of the Paediatric Association of Tanzania, said.
Administration’s response
A U.S. State Department spokesperson called the amfAR survey’s methodology “flawed” and asserted that the Trump administration has strengthened PEPFAR through “clear strategic direction, promoting greater recipient‑country ownership, and sharpening the program’s focus on measurable health outcomes.” The spokesperson highlighted that, as of September 30, 2025, the United States supported lifesaving HIV treatment for 20.6 million people in more than 50 countries.
Expert concerns about declining outcomes
Independent experts caution that declines in the number of children starting new HIV treatment do not signal success, but rather indicate that fewer children are being tested and linked to care. The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation called the trend an “HIV crisis hiding in plain sight.”
Data from the foundation show that testing for pregnant women fell by 2% and testing for infants fell by at least 6% at the end of 2025 compared with the prior year. The Orphans and Vulnerable Children Program also saw a drop of about 4.8 million children and families served in 2025.
Funding and reporting gaps
CNN previously reported that the administration has underspent roughly $1.7 billion of Congress‑approved PEPFAR appropriations and redirected $2 billion intended for other global‑health programs to cover USAID closures. Additionally, the administration has stopped releasing quarterly PEPFAR reports, limiting transparency for researchers and health providers.
These developments underscore ongoing concerns that the Trump administration’s shift toward greater recipient‑country co‑financing and reduced U.S. oversight may be leaving vulnerable populations without essential HIV prevention and treatment services.
Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.
