00:00The suspension of most funding to PEPFAR, the President's emergency plan for AIDS relief,
00:07caused an immediate stop to services for HIV treatment, testing, and prevention in more than 50 countries.
00:16Eight countries now have substantial disruptions to antiretroviral therapy
00:21and will run out of medicines in the coming months.
00:26Disruptions to HIV programs could undo 20 years of progress,
00:31leading to more than 10 million additional cases of HIV
00:36and 3 million HIV-related deaths, more than triple the number of deaths last year.
00:43The U.S. administration has been extremely generous over many years.
00:48And of course, it's within its rights to decide what it supports and to what extent.
00:57But the U.S. also has a responsibility to ensure that if it withdraws direct funding for countries,
01:06it's done in an orderly and humane way that allows them to find alternative sources of funding.
01:16We ask the U.S. to reconsider its support for global health, which not only saves lives around the world,
01:23it also makes the U.S. safer by preventing outbreaks from spreading internationally.
01:30If the U.S. decides not to restore direct funding to countries,
01:35we ask it to engage in dialogue with affected countries
01:39so plans can be made to transition from reliance on U.S. funding to more sustainable solutions
01:46without disruptions that cost lives.
01:50The sudden cuts to U.S. funding are also affecting efforts to eradicate polio,
01:55to monitor the emergence of diseases such as avian influenza,
02:00and to respond to disease outbreaks and humanitarian crises.
02:06Almost 24 million people living in such crises are at risk of not being able to access essential health services.
02:15More than 2,600 health facilities in 12 humanitarian crises have already suspended services,
02:23at least partially, or will do very soon.
02:27In many countries, the abrupt loss of U.S. funding threatens to reverse progress
02:33in disease control, immunization rates, maternal and child health, and emergency preparedness.
02:41In Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, the largest refugee camp in the world,
02:46diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C has been disrupted,
02:50as well as disease surveillance, primary and secondary health care,
02:54laboratory services, procurement of supplies, and salaries of health workers.
03:00There are now severe disruptions to the supply of malaria diagnostics, medicines,
03:05and insecticide-treated bed nets due to stock-outs, delayed delivery, or lack of funding.
03:12Over the last two decades, the U.S. has been the largest bilateral donor to the fight against malaria,
03:19helping to prevent an estimated 2.2 billion cases and 12.7 million doses.
03:28If disruptions continue, we could see an additional 15 million cases of malaria
03:35and 107,000 deaths this year alone, reversing 15 years of progress.
03:43On tuberculosis, 27 countries in Africa and Asia are facing crippling breakdowns in their response,
03:51with shortages of human resources, disruptions to diagnosis and treatment,
03:56data and surveillance systems collapsing, and vital community engagement work deteriorating.
04:04Nine countries have reported failing procurement and supply chains for TB drugs,
04:10jeopardizing the lives of people with TB.
04:14Over the past two decades, U.S. support for TB services has helped to save almost 80 million lives.
04:23Those gains, too, are at risk.
04:26Music
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