UN agency says US waiver to help in continued supply of life-saving HIV treatment

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(Reuters) -A U.S. humanitarian waiver will allow people in several countries to continue accessing life-saving HIV treatments, the UNAIDS said on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump’s freeze on foreign aid threatened such supplies.

The “Emergency Humanitarian Waiver”, approved by the United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio late, will allow access to HIV treatment for people in 55 countries worldwide that are funded by the U.S., UNAIDS said in a statement.

“This urgent decision recognizes PEPFAR’s critical role in the AIDS response and restores hope to people living with HIV,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima.

More than 20 million people living with HIV, who represent two-thirds of all people living with the disease receiving treatment globally, are directly supported by the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) — the world’s leading HIV initiative.

Contractors and partners who work with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) began receiving memos to stop work immediately, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

These included halting the supply of lifesaving drugs for HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, as well as medical supplies for newborn babies, in countries supported by USAID around the globe, the memo reviewed by Reuters showed.

It was part of efforts to transform how Washington allocates aid around the world in line with Trump’s “America First” policy.

UNAIDS is a joint venture of the United Nations and has a target of putting an end to the disease as a public health threat by 2030.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)