Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s order to pause nearly all foreign aid has halted funding to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), an African HIV-prevention program launched by President George W. Bush in 2003 that has saved over 25 million lives.

Sources who spoke with CBS News said the funding could stop as early as Monday, which could cut off access to anti-viral medications for millions of people. The sources said they were unsure if recipients of the funding could subsist on stockpiles of the medications during the freeze.

Related

Republicans have delayed over $1 billion in funding for a critical HIV prevention program
The delay comes as a result of backhanded Republican maneuvers and abuse of bureaucratic processes.

Rubio’s order was in conjunction with Donald Trump’s day-one executive order mandating a 90-day pause on all foreign aid while the U.S. officials assess “programs for programmatic efficiency and consistency with United States foreign policy.”

Insights for the LGBTQ+ community

Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

On Saturday, Trump told the press that America is “like a one-way street so we want other people to help us and we want other people to join us. We are spending billions and billions and billions of dollars and other countries that are wealthy are spending zero. Why should we be the only ones?”

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL), Ranking Member of the House National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs (NSRP) Appropriations Subcommittee issued a letter to Secretary Rubio on Friday expressing “deep concern” over the funding freeze, which they said puts lives at risk and “undermines American leadership and credibility around the world.”

“United States foreign assistance programs promote stability in other countries to help stop crises from expanding directly to our doorstep,” they wrote. “Foreign assistance is not a handout; it is a strategic investment in our future that is vital for U.S. global leadership and a more resilient world. It directly serves our national interests and demonstrates our credibility to allies, partners, and vulnerable people who rely on American assistance for survival.”

The letter used PEPAFAR as an example of the extremely high risks involved in cutting off funds. They explained that the program “currently provides 20.6 million people across 55 countries with anti-retroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS” and that “these lives depend on an uninterrupted supply of medicines.”

“Your pause in funding will cost lives,” they warned.

Before the funding freeze, PEPFAR had already become a GOP target.

In 2023, Republicans used the program as a bargaining chip in budget negotiations. Backhanded Republican maneuvers resulted in over $1 billion in delayed funding. At the time, conservative organizations had also been threatening Republican lawmakers with the withdrawal of their support if they voted for PEPFAR’s routine reauthorization. While U.S. law prohibits foreign aid money from being used to provide abortions, conservatives falsely claimed, without evidence, that in its current form PEPFAR funds organizations that promote and provide abortions.

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.