Washington — The US state department said on Saturday that the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar), the world’s leading HIV initiative, was covered by a waiver for life-saving humanitarian assistance during a 90-day pause in foreign aid.
Just hours after taking office on January 20, President Donald Trump ordered the pause so foreign aid contributions could be reviewed to see if they align with his “America First” foreign policy. The US is the world’s largest aid donor.
Secretary of state Marco Rubio initially issued a waiver for emergency food aid and then on Tuesday for life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter and subsistence help. However, the lack of detail in Trump’s order and the ensuing waivers had left aid groups confused as to whether their work can continue.
On Saturday the state department’s Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy issued a memo, seen by Reuters, clarifying that Pepfar was covered by the January 28 memo and spelling out what activities were allowed.
These include: life-saving HIV care and treatment services, including testing and counselling, prevention and treatment of infections including tuberculosis (TB); laboratory services; and procurement and the supply chain for commodities/medicines. It also allows services that seek to prevent mother-to-child transmission.
“Any other activities not specifically mentioned in this guidance may not be resumed without express approval,” it said.
More than 20-million people living with HIV are directly supported by Pepfar. That number represents two-thirds of all people living with the disease receiving treatment globally.
Under Trump’s foreign aid pause, all payments by US Agency for International Development (USAID) stopped on Tuesday — for the first time since the fiscal year began on October 1 — and have not resumed, according to US treasury data. On Monday USAID paid out $8m and the previous week a total of $545m.
The Trump administration is also moving to strip a slimmed-down USAID of its independence and put it under state department control, two sources familiar with the discussions said on Friday, in what would be a significant overhaul of how Washington allocates US foreign aid.
Reuters
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