Elon Musk’s DOGE Is Still Blocking HIV/AIDS Relief Exempted From Foreign Aid Cuts | EUROtoday

USAID employees who nonetheless have entry to their e-mail accounts acquired a discover on Monday night from Ken Jackson, the company’s assistant to the administrator for administration and sources, saying that the company “would likely undergo a reorganization” and be built-in into the State Department. “As we evaluate USAID and ensure it is in alignment with an America First agenda, the President Trump Administration, and the efforts of the State Department, we will focus on ensuring every agency dollar is delivering targeted and results-driven aid,” the e-mail learn.

In international locations like Zambia, Nigeria, Haiti, and Mozambique, medical tools starting from antiretroviral medication for treating HIV to pre-exposure prophylaxis and condoms that may stop transmission of the illness are at present sitting in limbo, in line with the identical USAID employee who warned of a drastic uptick within the variety of youngsters dwelling with HIV. The assist is unable to achieve its locations as a result of the USAID staff tasked with logistics have been positioned on administrative go away.

“When a baby is born, you do an early infant diagnostic test, and if it comes back positive, you can blitz them with retrovirals, but you can’t do that if you don’t have retrovirals,” the identical USAID employee says. “It’s an absolute disaster.”

In Haiti, an assist employee confirmed that HIV/AIDS remedy from USAID stays inaccessible. “We cannot touch the medication,” they are saying. “Everything is on hold.” The employee added that no person from USAID had answered their cellphone requires days.

“The Trump administration is playing with tens of millions of people’s lives, and Haiti is just one consequential example of that in our hemisphere,” says Asia Russell, the manager director of the worldwide HIV advocacy group Health GAP.

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While PEPFAR is essentially the most well-known HIV/AIDS program carried out by USAID, the company has quite a lot of extra tasks dedicated to the difficulty. One present USAID employee whose analysis focuses on prophylactic units primarily for ladies in sub-Saharan Africa says that their work has been interrupted, too. They say members of their staff had been abruptly reduce off from their work emails this afternoon. “We hadn’t yet applied for a humanitarian waiver,” they are saying. “We don’t even have a way of contacting IT.”

Democratic lawmakers and dozens of USAID staff protested in entrance of the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC on Monday after they had been denied entry to USAID’s workplaces. “This illegal, unconstitutional interference with congressional power is threatening lives all over the world,” mentioned Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin.

A present USAID worker shared an e-mail with WIRED they acquired from the company on Monday evening, informing them that USAID buildings in Washington will stay closed tomorrow. “We will continue to provide further updates as they become available,” the e-mail reads. “Thank you for your cooperation.”