25-Year-Old Gay Man In Awka Tests Positive To HIV After Trump Cut Aid To Africa

<blockquote>June 20 (Reuters) -<br><br><b>Emmanuel Cherem, a 25-year-old gay man in Nigeria, tested positive for HIV two months after U.S. President Donald Trump's administration cut access for at-risk groups like gay men and injecting drug users to medication that prevents infection</b>.<br><br>Sub-Saharan Africa remains the epicenter of the AIDS pandemic. <b>Trump's cuts have restricted the availability of drugs that millions of Africans have taken to prevent infection - particularly vulnerable communities such as gay men and sex workers - as aid groups and public health systems in Africa strove to roll back the disease.</b><br><br><b>Cherem admits he should have been more careful about practicing safe sex but had become accustomed to using the U.S.-supplied pharmaceutical. </b><br><br>The drug - known as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, or PrEP - is typically taken daily as a tablet and can reduce the risk of contracting HIV through sex by 99%.<br><br><b><i>&quot;I blame myself... Taking care of myself is my first duty as a person</i></b>,&quot; Cherem said at his gym in Awka, the capital of Nigeria's southeastern state of Anambra.<br><br><b>&quot;<i>I equally blame the Trump administration because, you know, these things were available, and then, without prior notice, these things were cut off.&quot;</i></b><br><br>Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid after taking office in January and halted grants by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The agency was responsible for implementing the bulk of the assistance under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the world's leading HIV/AIDS initiative.<br><br>Now, some of those who've lost access to the preventative medication because of U.S. cutbacks are already testing positive, according to 10 patients, health officials and activists.</blockquote><br><a rel=ugc href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/trump-aid-cuts-deal-blow-hiv-prevention-africa-2025-06-20/">https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/trump-aid-cuts-deal-blow-hiv-prevention-africa-2025-06-20/</a>
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