President Donald Trump has ordered a halt to a decades-old program dating back to the George W. Bush administration that has saved millions of lives abroad by distributing HIV medications to low-income countries,

The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, provides billions in funding to organizations to combat HIV.

On Friday, a memorandum signed by Marco Rubio called for a 90-day cessation of foreign aid. That would likely put on hold the work of PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

PEPFAR has saved 25 million lives around the globe and is considered George W. Bush's greatest achievement. Donald Trump has left its future in doubt.

Since PEPFAR’s inception, the US government has invested over $100 billion in the global HIV/AIDS response. According to WHO, this the programme provide access to life-saving HIV therapy to more than 30 million people worldwide. Globally, 39.9 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2023.

The US government has suspended financial support for HIV treatment programmes in Nigeria and other developing countries following an

The action originates from President Trump’s executive order on foreign aid, which he signed on his first day in office last Monday.

International aid groups warned that the Trump administration’s “stop work order” on foreign assistance risks both lives and American influence across Africa, where US aid funds everything from military exercises to local hospitals.