Public Health: HIV patients in Nigeria, 7 others face uncertainty as treatment supplies ‘run out soon’ –WHO

*Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation, announces Nigeria, Haiti, Kenya, Lesotho, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Ukraine could exhaust their supplies of HIV treatments in the coming months

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Sequel to United States (US) President Donald Trump administration’s recent pause on foreign aid, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has listed Nigeria, and seven other countries that are likely to run out of supply of HIV treatments soon.

ConsumerConnect reports the United Nations (UN) health regulatory agency, which noted this development Monday, March 17, 2025, affirmed that Trump administration’s decision to pause US foreign aid has “substantially disrupted” supply of HIV treatments to the listed countries.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, at a press conference, said Nigeria, Haiti, Kenya, Lesotho, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Ukraine could exhaust their supplies of HIV treatments in the coming months, agency report noted.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO

Expressing concern about possible negative effects of the unfolding scenario on the listed countries, Dr. Ghebreyesus stated: “The disruptions to HIV programmes could undo 20 years of progress.”

The Director-General of WHO projected this development could lead to over 10 million additional HIV cases and three million HIV-related deaths in the likely affected countries.

On implications of US foreign aid pause

President Trump’s implementation of aid pause shortly after he took office January 20 this year has impacted efforts at tackling HIV, polio, malaria and tuberculosis in several countries around the world, according to report.

The WHO-coordinated Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network, with over 700 sites worldwide, also faces imminent shutdown, the WHO warned.

This comes at a time when measles is making a comeback even in the United States.

Ghebreyesus noted the US has a “responsibility to ensure that if it withdraws direct funding for countries, it’s done in an orderly and humane way that allows them to find alternative sources of funding,”

Funding shortages could also force 80 percent of WHO-supported essential health care services in Afghanistan to close, the agency said in a separate statement.

It is also noted that as of March 4, 2025, 167 health facilities had shut down due to funding shortages, and without urgent intervention, as over 220 more facilities could close by June this year.

The United States’ plans to exit the WHO have also forced the UN agency, which typically receives about a fifth of its overall annual funding from the US, to freeze hiring and initiate budget cuts.

The WHO on Monday, further disclosed that it plans to cut funding target for emergency operations to $872 million from $1.2 billion in the 2026-2027 budget period.