US aid cut 'a very difficult shock' for anti-HIV/Aids efforts – UNAIDS - video Dailymotion

The Manila Times

US aid cut 'a very difficult shock' for anti-HIV/Aids efforts – UNAIDS  The freezing of the prominent US aid program PEPFAR is "a very difficult shock," says the deputy executive director of UNAIDS, explaining that the funding cut will severely impact anti-HIV/Aids work around the world. "What will most likely be affected is prevention," says Christine Stegling, following US President Donald Trump's signing of an executive order halting almost all of the country's foreign aid.  AFP VIDEO  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe   Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net   Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion   Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital   Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein  #TheManilaTimes #worldnews  #aids  #prevention  #unitedstates

Transcript

00:00At the most basic level, it's 50% of our funding, so it has a huge impact on us and our ability to do our work.

00:06So we are thinking through different scenarios, what will it take for us to fit into a smaller funding envelope.

00:12But obviously, we are also trying to await what the decisions of the outcomes of the review are and not to premeditate those outcomes.

00:20The impact is for all of us, right? It's for the whole global health system or for the whole global development system.

00:26But the most important thing obviously for us was that while we have a freeze, an 80-day freeze, we also have a waiver for life-saving medicine.

00:34So that was a wonderful breather for all of us that we have that at least so that people who are on treatment will continue to be on treatment.

00:43So yes, at this particular point, we are asking other governments and other donors to stand in solidarity with us to make sure that we don't lose the gains that we have made.

00:53Was it naive? I think nobody has been naive.

00:56Everybody has been trying to prepare. It's a very difficult shock to prepare for in terms of the whole development system.

01:02But what will most likely be affected is prevention, preventing of new HIV infections.

01:07And every moment that we have a stop, every moment that governments are trying to figure out how to mitigate the impact at country level,

01:15we will have new HIV infections because a lot of the prevention programs and especially a lot of the programs by communities at country level

01:23that are helping us to avert new infections will be paused.

01:26Yeah, I think we all need to be worried at this particular time that pandemics don't just stop because we put a pause on our programs.

01:34Right. And that is a real risk for national health security, health security, but also for international health security.

01:41Pandemics don't stay in one place. They move around. We know that from COVID.

01:45We know that from HIV. We have been dealing with HIV and responding to HIV for 40 years.

01:50And I think that is where the greatest risk is right now if we are not addressing it as a global community,

01:56but are trying to find individual solutions to something that affects all of us in the world.

02:01And we know that pandemic outbreaks can happen over and over again.

02:05We have seen it. We have some HIV epidemic outbreaks right now.

02:08We have them in the Philippines. We have them in Fiji.

02:11We have them in some countries where we thought we were at an OK level and they come up again because we are not paying enough attention.

02:19And that's why we need to stand together. We can't do this. Nobody can do any of this by themselves.

US aid cut 'a very difficult shock' for anti-HIV/Aids efforts – UNAIDS

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