By Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates in an interview Wednesday said he hopes President Trump sees the value in preserving the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program, which has saved more than 25 million lives since it launched in 2003.
Gates, in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, said he stressed the importance of the program when he met with Trump late last year.
“That was a strong message that I gave him,” Gates said, noting that he supports the programs and spends “a lot of time” ensuring the funds are “well spent.”
“And I’m hopeful that he’ll see both the moral and strategic value to keep this strong,” he added.
The legacy bipartisan initiative to combat HIV and AIDS in Africa became collateral damage in Trump’s directive to halt U.S. foreign aid, despite efforts to exempt humanitarian assistance and lifesaving medication from the three-month funding freeze.
The pause in global health funding has frozen activities at health clinics across Africa that rely on PEPFAR, raising immediate fears of a rapid spread of HIV around the continent.
Gates, whose charitable organization has long partnered with PEPFAR to tackle the HIV/AIDS crisis in African countries, was asked about the status of the program in the interview, which aired Wednesday.
“There were 48 hours where drug disbursement was shut down, and then that was reversed,” Gates said. “And now the challenge is that the employees who manage that work aren’t being let into the office. So we’re a bit up in the air.”