Because the HIV epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has historically been concentrated and controlled, the region has been given lower priority in the HIV response and funding. As of 2024, only nine countries had explicit HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) policies. Since then, new HIV incidence in LAC countries has increased. However, most national HIV programs rely on donor funding to some extent, and in several countries, PrEP has only been available through foreign-funded programs.
The study authors distributed an online survey, from February 18 to March 14, 2025, in English, Spanish, French, and Haitian Creole, to HIV service organizations in the LAC region. Overall, 40 organizations from 13 countries provided data for the analysis.
Of the 24 (56%) respondents who reported receiving US funds in the last year, 21 (87%) had their funds suspended. The median annual budget affected was $140,000, which was 46% of the organizations’ annual budgets, and for some, it was 100%.
The funding freeze most often affected sexual prevention programs, HIV testing services, social services, psychosocial support, gender-based violence prevention, clinical care, and HIV PrEP (in countries that offered PrEP).
Affected programs served a total of 156,164 beneficiaries who were estimated to lose access to HIV services provided by these organizations due to the funding freezes:
- 16,179 adults and 1,270 children, with a median of 193 adults and no children living with HIV per organization, and
- 117,513 adults and 21,202 children, with a median of 2,500 adults and five children without HIV or with unknown HIV status per organization.
US foreign aid suspensions have caused drastic pauses and terminations of critical HIV prevention and care programs, and, according to the researchers, this survey likely underestimates the extent of the damage. Although the LAC region may have higher autonomy from foreign support rely less on US funding than other regions, progress on HIV prevention and control is threatened.
Reference
Talero MB, et al. IAS 2025. Program number LB47.
