The Trump administration rejected a few of the remaining medical officers who control some of the most vulnerable people in the world: more than 500,000 children in low -income countries and more than 600,000 pregnant women with HIV.
In order to prevent newborns from receiving HIV from their mothers and to provide treatment for infected children, expert teams were eliminated last week in the chaotic reorganization of the Health and Human Services Department.
Some consequences of dismissal are only now.
Although it is known that some personnel dedicated to the prevention of HIV in other countries have disappeared, the New York Times learned that such experts have now ended or re -assigned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US International Development Agency.
These mother health programs are still financed by the President’s AIDS assistance or an emergency plan for Pepfar. However, without personnel to manage initiatives or distribute money, it is not clear how to continue.
Health and Human Services Department did not respond to the request for comments.
“We hope that this is no longer important in Pepfar and that it is an error that can be corrected,” he said.
Bets are high. Already in Sub -Sahara Africa, AIDS under the age of 15 every seven minutes.
On Tuesday, a study in Lancet predicted that suspending Pepfar could lead to approximately one million new HIV infections by 2030 and could lead to about 500,000 AIDS deaths and 2.8 million more orphans among children.
After the newly emerged Trump administration freezes all foreign aids, Foreign Minister Marco Rubio issued a waiver that allows the presentation of “core life -saving medicine, medical services” and other activities financed by the US.
A waiver of Pepfar continued to open programs to prevent HIV from infection from mother to child and to ensure the treatment of infected women and children.
The documents, which allow the help to continue, lasted weeks after the renunciation was given, and some organizations are starting to receive the necessary federal funds to carry out programs.
“You can dismantle something very quickly, but now you are trying to build a part of the staff and 5 percent of institutional information,” he said.
All of the experts in Pediatric HIV left the courage of USAID and left a single unit in the CDC with expertise to advise international programs. This team disappeared with someone else who handed fund payment for 300 grants in more than 40 countries in more than 40 countries.
Considering the waiver of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this dismissal was a surprise to federal health workers and trusting organizations.
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Deputy General Manager of Medical and Scientific Affairs Anj We clearly understood that HIV services will fall for mothers and children, Anj said Anja Giphart.
The foundation depends on CDC for about 60 percent of its budget. “We were completely blind when the entire unit in the CDC was terminated.”
The organization was promised until September. However, only a few people had the authority to use the payment system at CDC
“Everyone is trying to understand how to pay for the country teams and partners,” he said.
Other experts, despite the waiver of the CDC HIV teams said they were not surprised to linger.
Jirair Ratevvosian, who served as the Chief of General Staff of Pepfar under the direction of Biden, said, “What we see is that none of the actions taken by the administration is rhyme and the cause”.
Looking at children and pregnant women with HIV is complex.
Infants need a different HIV test than used for adults, and infected babies should take a separate medication set. When treatment is discontinued, they rapidly succumb to complications.
Giphart, “Especially when you think of children, the essence of time,” he said. “This seems to be not really taken into account with all these changes.”
In low -income countries, pregnant women with HIV are usually treated in prenatal clinics. Without treatment, one of the three pregnant women can transfer HIV to their baby.
Treatment decreases The risk of transmission is less than 1 percent. There is pepfar Preventing about eight million Since its establishment in 2003, such infections in newborns.
Foreign aid freezing imposed in January led to the scarcity of pediatric HIV drugs in many countries and a new HIV drug treatment is delayed.
An official who speaks on condition of anonymity for retaliation fear is that CDC experts help to prepare low -income countries for this transition, to prepare for stocks, and to direct drugs to places where the most urgent needs.
“This coordination is currently critical because we are in a tremendous period of change,” he said.
