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UNAIDS director proposes that President Trump make an 'amazing deal' to end HIV

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UNAIDS director proposes that President Trump make an 'amazing deal' to end HIV
News

News

UNAIDS director proposes that President Trump make an 'amazing deal' to end HIV

2025-03-24 22:15 Last Updated At:22:32

GENEVA (AP) —

The head of the U.N. AIDS agency said Monday that the sudden loss of American money has been “devastating” for efforts to stop HIV and will cost many lives of the world’s most vulnerable people. But she also proposed an “amazing deal” for U.S. President Donald Trump that she said could result in “the end of AIDS.”

At a news briefing in Geneva, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said that the deal would involve Trump enabling the U.S. company Gilead to produce and license its “magical” prevention drug lenacapavir across the world to the millions of people who need it.

Lenacapavir, sold as Sunlenca, has been shown through twice-yearly injections to completely prevent HIV infection in women and which works nearly as well in men.

“President Trump likes deals,” Byanyimasaid, acknowledging that it was President George W. Bush who first started paying for the widespread roll-out of HIV drugs more than two decades ago.

“It could be President Trump, another Republican president, who leads the prevention revolution towards the end of AIDS,” Byanyima said.

She added that the deal would result not only in profits for Gilead and create jobs for Americans, but save millions of lives in poorer countries.

Byanyima said that American money made up about 35% of UNAIDS’ core budget last year but it was unclear whether that might be restored for next year. She said the agency was in talks with the U.S. government but was also preparing for a worst-case scenario, in which there was no funding available from the U.S.

Byanyima said it was unlikely any other donors would be able to fill that vacuum, adding that European donors have told the agency they would be cutting back on their support in order to redirect their funds to defense and other priorities.

Byanyima said that unless support to HIV efforts is restored, there could be more than 6.3 million additional deaths in the next four years and an additional 2,000 people per day becoming infected.

She acknowledged that there has been some valid criticism regarding how HIV aid has been delivered, calling it “an opportunity to rethink and develop more efficient ways of delivering life-saving support.”

Byanyima also said African countries were trying to become more self-sufficient and that even some of the poorest nations were now “trying to stretch very weak, fragile health systems to absorb people living with HIV.”

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

FILE - Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International, attends the 47th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP, File)

FILE - Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International, attends the 47th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP, File)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the Kursk region for the first time since Russia said it expelled Ukrainian forces from the area in April.

The Kremlin said Wednesday that Putin visited Kursk on the border with Ukraine the day before.

Ukrainian forces made a surprise incursion into Kursk in August 2024 in the largest cross-border raid by Kyiv’s forces in the nearly 2 ½-year war, before being pushed out by Russian troops nine months later. Ukraine has not confirmed its expulsion from the area.

Putin visited Kursk Nuclear Power Plant-2, which is still under construction, and spoke at a closed meeting with selected volunteers. He also told acting Gov. Alexander Khinshtein that the Kremlin supported the idea of continuing monthly payments to displaced families that still could not return to their homes.

Disgruntled residents had previously shown their disapproval over a lack of compensation in rare organized protests.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said its air defenses shot down 159 Ukrainian drones across the country overnight, including 53 over the Oryol region and 51 over the Bryansk region.

In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, Russian servicemen attend a combat training for assault units in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, Russian servicemen attend a combat training for assault units in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

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