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https://theconversation.com/cutting-hiv-aid-means-undercutting-us-foreign-and-economic-interests-nigeria-shows-the-human-costs-253705>
"A little over two decades ago, addressing Nigeria’s HIV crisis topped U.S.
President George W. Bush’s priorities. Africa’s most populous nation had 3.5
million HIV cases, and the disease threatened to destabilize the region and
ultimately compromise U.S. interests. These interests included securing access
to Nigeria’s substantial oil reserves, maintaining regional military stability
and protecting trade partnerships worth billions.
Following years of agitation from AIDS activists, Bush launched the President’s
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, in 2003. This U.S.-led HIV treatment
program has since saved tens of millions of lives around the globe.
While living in Nigeria for my work as a medical anthropologist, I witnessed
PEPFAR’s rollout and saw firsthand how the powerful therapies it provided
transformed Nigerian lives. The women I worked with told me they could finally
put aside the fears of death or abandonment that had consumed their days.
Instead, they could focus on a newly expanded horizon of possibilities:
building careers, finding love, having healthy children.
Now, however, a serious threat to preventing and treating HIV worldwide looms.
The Trump administration’s decision to substantially restrict access to a vital
HIV prevention tool – PEPFAR-funded preexposure prophylaxis, or PrEP – would
cut off ongoing treatment for millions of people and block future access for
countless others who need this protection.
The timing is devastating: Scientists recently made a major advance in HIV
prevention. Named the 2024 Breakthrough of the Year by the journal
Science,
the drug lenacapavir offers six months of HIV protection with one injection.
Unlike previous PrEP options that required daily pills, which created
significant barriers to consistent access and adherence, this twice-yearly
injection dramatically simplifies prevention.
By undermining access to a treatment that has been essential to reducing HIV
rates, the Trump administration’s new restrictions threaten to derail two
decades of bipartisan investment in eliminating HIV globally. The consequences
extend well beyond individual lives."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
