By Olukayode Idowu
The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has approved an “Emergency Humanitarian Waiver”, which will allow people to continue accessing HIV treatment funded by the US across 55 countries worldwide.
More than 20 million people living with HIV, representing two-thirds of all people living with HIV receiving treatment globally, are directly supported by the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) – the world’s leading HIV initiative.
A statement on Wednesday quoted UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima to have said: “UNAIDS welcomes this waiver from the US government which ensures that millions of people living with HIV can continue to receive life-saving HIV medication during the assessment of US foreign development assistance,” adding that: “This urgent decision recognizes PEPFAR’s critical role in the AIDS response and restores hope to people living with HIV.”
In recent days, the US Department of State announced an immediate 90-day funding pause for all foreign assistance, including for funding and services supported by PEPFAR.
The executive order announcing a “90-day pause in United States foreign development assistance for assessment of programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy” was one of the first major foreign policy decisions of the new administration.
With this new waiver approval is given for the continuation or resumption of “life-saving humanitarian assistance” which applies to core life-saving medicine and medical services, including HIV treatment, as well as to supplies necessary to deliver such assistance.
According to the statement, UNAIDS will continue efforts to ensure that all people living with or affected by HIV are served and that other key components of PEPFAR’s life-saving efforts, including service delivery and services for HIV prevention, care, and support for orphans and vulnerable children are continued.
The statement added that UNAIDS is serving in its essential role to mobilize and convene partners, governments, and communities across the globe at the country level to assess and mitigate the impact of the pause on the continuity of essential HIV services.
