After days of confusion, anxiety, and speculation about whether critical HIV/AIDS programs might be included in the U.S. State Department’s “life-saving humanitarian assistance” waiver allowing for a limited amount of foreign aid work to continue amid the Trump administration’s ongoing review and stop-work order, the answer is in.
The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, has been granted “a limited waiver to implement urgent life-saving HIV treatment services” as part of the broader humanitarian assistance waiver, according to a memo sent to PEPFAR implementing agencies and country coordinators on Saturday by Jeff Graham, the senior bureau official in the State Department’s Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy.
During the 90-day pause on foreign aid, HIV care and treatment services — “inclusive of HIV testing and counseling, prevention and the treatment of opportunistic infections” including tuberculosis, lab services, procurement, and supply chain for commodities and medicines — can continue, according to the memo, which was obtained by Devex.
About the author
Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal
Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.
