Trump administration officials are putting forward new data that shows U.S. federal anti-HIV/AIDS funding has continued to curb the worldwide epidemic despite accusations from outside public health experts that the program was damaged when it was absorbed into the State Department last year.
Public health experts have warned since USAID was deconstructed last year that changes to PEPFAR would result in a rapid rise in HIV/AIDS worldwide, but the new data shows that the U.S. program under the State Department supported antiretroviral treatment for 20.6 million people living with HIV across 50 countries, which is the same as 2024 levels.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a Monday statement obtained by the Washington Examiner that the PEPFAR program is now “more effective, more efficient, and more strategic, all while costing taxpayers less.”
“The naysayers have once again been proven wrong,” Pigott said. “Under the Trump administration, PEPFAR is providing life-saving
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