What does PEPFAR’s future look like in the Trump administration?
4/20/20269 min
PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, has saved 26 million lives since President George W. Bush launched the program in 2003.
But the Trump administration has made major changes to the way the U.S. distributes foreign aid, disrupting HIV care — and leaving many health workers uncertain about the future of PEPFAR.
What do those changes to foreign assistance mean for the fight against HIV and AIDS around the world?
Host Juana Summers speaks with Dr. Deborah Birx, who once was the U.S. global AIDS coordinator in charge of PEPFAR.
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This episode was produced by Vincent Acovino and Karen Zamora.
It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Courtney Dorning.
Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJuana Summers· Host0:00
2.4 million. That is the number of Africans estimated to have died from AIDS in the year two thousand two alone.
Deborah Birx· Guest0:07
It was even worse than what they described. I mean, you cannot imagine twenty percent of a village dying, all again, in their thirties and forties.
Juana Summers· Host0:16
That's Dr. Deborah Birx. Most recently, she worked on the coronavirus pandemic and the Trump administration. But for decades, she fought a different virus. As a young HIV vaccine researcher in the eighties and nineties, she saw the toll of the AIDS crisis firsthand in East Africa. And then in two thousand three, as hundreds of thousands of Africans were dying and hundreds of thousands of African children were being orphaned, then President George W. Bush announced a program to help combat the epidemic.
Deborah Birx· Guest0:46
Out of the blue, I hear the State of a Union with President Bush saying we're gonna do something.
George W. Bush· Soundbite0:52
And to meet a severe and urgent crisis abroad, tonight I propose the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a work of mercy beyond all current international efforts to help the people of Africa.
Deborah Birx· Guest1:03
I was so proud in that moment that someone saw the crisis. The president believed that we could do things that I really [laughs] thought were impossible.
Juana Summers· Host1:12
Soon, Deborah Birx turned to implementing the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. Today, PEPFAR has saved nearly twenty-six million lives, according to the State Department. But the Trump administration has made major changes to the way the US distributes foreign aid,