The number of newborns infected with HIV in Uganda is rising sharply due to cuts in funding from USAID and PEPFAR programmes under the Trump administration, according to the Dutch organisation Aidsfonds.
A local clinic reported that, within three months, one in four newborns tested positive for HIV, a worrying trend considering mother-to-child transmission had almost been eradicated previously.
National figures show an increase in the transmission rate from 6.1% to 8.4% over six months, the NGO reported on World AIDS Day.
Uganda is home to approximately 1.5 million people living with HIV, most of whom rely on treatment from clinics that have been significantly impacted by funding cuts. Around 60 clinics have been forced to shut down.
USAID, established in 1961, managed an annual budget of $42.8 billion, representing 42% of global humanitarian aid.
However, in March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced an 83% reduction in its programmes.
In April, UNAIDS projected that a full halt of PEPFAR programmes, initiated by President George W. Bush, could lead to over six million new infections and 4.2 million AIDS-related deaths globally within four years—returning the pandemic to levels last seen in the early 2000s.
