In 2003, President George W. Bush launched a program called The President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has become one of the most successful foreign aid programs in United States history. According to the State Department, as of September 30, 2023, PEPFAR has saved 25 million lives and enabled 5.5 million babies to be born HIV-free.

Shortly after taking office in January 2025, the Trump administration halted PEPFAR as part of its cost-cutting measures, taking its computer systems offline and stopping most other USAID funding. The impact across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia was immediate. Since most healthcare missionaries from the U.S. are members of CMDA, we quickly began hearing stories from the frontlines regarding programs and even hospitals being shut down due to the cessation of funding. On January 28, the Trump administration granted a waiver for essential medicine and medical services, temporarily restoring a number of the services that had been suspended. Despite the waiver, we have heard heartbreaking stories of significant reduction and cancellation of HIV, malaria and TB programs at mission hospitals.

Here at CMDA, we’ve made every effort to contact the State Department office overseeing PEPFAR and related funding to communicate the urgent need to fully restore this funding as quickly as possible. We are also monitoring hearings and ongoing government efforts to restore this critical funding. We will continue to advocate for the vulnerable impacted by this loss of funding until it is completely restored. Please watch for more updates on this critical topic through The Point blog.

Update from March 6, 2025

Shortly after President Trump issued the Executive Order on January 20, 2025, imposing a 90-day freeze on all U.S. foreign aid, including PEPFAR, U.S. District Court Judge Amir Ali in Washington, D.C. issued a temporary restraining order blocking the government from freezing all aid contracts while legal proceedings continued. The Justice Department then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court asking for additional time before disbursing the funds. The Supreme Court initially put a hold on the restraining order to allow their consideration of the case, once again blocking disbursement of USAID/PEPFAR funds. However, on March 5, 2025, by a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court decided to remove that hold and allow the District Court’s decision to stand, forcing the Administration to release USAID/PEPFAR funds.

While this is a favorable decision for our overseas members who use PEPFAR funds to care for vulnerable individuals, such as newborn infants of HIV+ women, the actual distribution of funds is likely to remain stalled for some time because most USAID staff have been placed on administrative leave.

CMDA continues to advocate for the immediate release of these PEPFAR funds through contacts within the White House and Congress. This CMDA Matters podcast provides additional insight into this issue from frontline healthcare professionals. We have also made this a matter of regular prayer and urge our members to do the same.