There is growing concern among African stakeholders that their progress on addressing HIV/AIDS on the continent could be reversed by a U.S. decision to freeze spending on HIV treatment in several African countries, Agence France-Presse reports. An AIDS treatment clinic owner said that his colleague have no choice but to “turn patients away” because they did not have enough drugs to provide treatment.
President Barack Obama has shifted the focus of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief from emergency treatment to the prevention of new infections. The U.S. cannot continue providing treatment without addressing new infections, PEPFAR’s Kampala-based spokeswoman Lynne McDermott told AFP. She added that there will be drug shortages unless new infections are reduced.
