Two startlingly different views on long-awaited data on America's anti-HIV efforts

Global Health Two startlingly different views on long-awaited data on America's anti-HIV efforts April 23, 20266:51 AM ET By  Gabrielle Emanuel Funded by PEPFAR, this clinic in Kitwe, Zambia, provided medicines for patients who are HIV positive. President Trump's foreign aid overhaul interrupted operations in 2025. Ben de la Cruz/NPR hide caption toggle caption Ben de la Cruz/NPR The HIV/AIDS world has been waiting for months to learn how PEPFAR is doing. That's the much lauded program launched by President George W. Bush in 2003 and widely credited with saving 26 million lives through its HIV diagnosis, treatment, outreach and support programs. The U.S. puts about $5 billion a year toward this work. When the Trump administration froze foreign aid, did that hobble PEPFAR — the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief? Or did it rebound with waivers aimed at allowing live-saving programs to continue and strong bipartisan backing? In past years, PEPFAR data would be released four times a year, giving experts all over the world a sense of how the program was doing and whether it was hitting its targets. This year, global health specialists have been waiting — and waiting. Since President Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, no data had officially been released. Sponsor Message Finally, some data came out on Friday afternoon. And what did it show? Depends on whom you ask. Government officials pointed to the figures, particularly the number of people on HIV treatment, as a sign of real success. "The numbers are very, very good," said Jeremy Lewin at a public event this past week. He's the acting undersecretary of state for foreign assistance, humanitarian affairs and religious freedom at the State Department. "People will be surprised at, I think, how resilient our health programs are and have been." However, as HIV experts and activists scramble to do rapid analyses, they are coming to a very different conclusion. They are raising grave concerns abo...