Approximately 77,000 children worldwide stopped receiving US-supported HIV treatment in the fiscal year ending October 2025, compared with the preceding period, according to a study that attributes the decline to cuts and changes in foreign aid introduced by the Donald Trump administration.
The study focuses exclusively on programmes funded by the United States, noting that some of the children may have continued receiving treatment through national governments or other donors.
Drawing on data from the US government, the researchers concluded that US-supported paediatric HIV treatment fell by approximately 14% on an annual basis, though they argue that more detailed country-level data is needed to assess the true impact of the reduction.
‘These are signals, not a verdict. But children cannot wait,’ said Kenneth Ngure, Professor of Global Health at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and co-author of the study, which was presented at the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro.
The US State Department disputed the findings, stating that it had not reviewed the study in detail and arguing that the methodology used has limitations. The department said the decline in the number of children in treatment also reflects the fact that fewer children are contracting HIV and that the number of patients in treatment has been falling for four years.
Nevertheless, the study’s authors maintain that the drop recorded in the past year exceeded the historical trend observed in Uganda, Haiti, Zambia, South Africa, and Kenya — countries where the impact is believed to have been most pronounced.
The research analysed data from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and found that US-supported paediatric treatment declined in 20 of the 21 countries assessed. Focusing solely on so-called ‘core support’, the researchers estimate that approximately 55,000 children lost access to that assistance over the past year.
South Africa recorded the largest absolute reduction, with around 30,000 children losing access to support — equivalent to a decline of 45%. Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Malawi followed. South Africa, which has the largest number of people living with HIV in the world, already finances the majority of its own epidemic response; the United States has announced the end of its support for HIV programmes in the country.
Health activist Susan Wairimu Metta, who works with HIV-affected communities in Kisumu West, Kenya, said the cuts had a direct impact on paediatric care, reducing community support groups and introducing charges for tests that were previously free of cost.
According to the activist, the situation has partly improved with a strengthened response from the Kenyan government, but many of the community mechanisms that prevented children from falling through the cracks ‘have not yet been fully replaced’.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/07/22/mundo-en/vih-cortes-dos-eua-deixam-77-mil-criancas-sem-tratamento-aponta-estudo/
