Haiti running out of HIV medication due to USAID funding cuts
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Haiti’s HIV patients face a growing crisis as USAID funding cuts threaten access to life-saving medications.
Haiti is on the brink of a public health crisis as supplies of HIV medication run dangerously low, following dramatic funding cuts by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Hospitals and orphanages warn that the lives of thousands of patients are now at risk.
More than 150,000 people in Haiti live with HIV or AIDS, though the actual figure may be significantly higher. For years, the country relied on foreign aid to sustain treatment programs. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to slash over 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts—part of broader $60 billion global cuts—has left Haiti’s healthcare system scrambling.
Marie Denis-Luque, founder of CHOAIDS (Caring for Haitian Orphans with AIDS), says her facility’s medication supply will only last until the end of July. Based in Cap-Haïtien after relocating from Port-au-Prince due to gang violence, CHOAIDS houses 26 HIV-positive children, some just 9 months old, cared for by women also living with the virus.
“We do not know what is going to happen after that,” Denis-Luque said, visibly emotional. “I cannot watch them die.”
Without access to antiretroviral drugs, HIV attacks the immune system, progressing into AIDS and dramatically reducing life expectancy. The lack of treatment could reverse years of progress in managing the disease in Haiti.
At a nearby hospital in Cap-Haïtien, Dr. Eugene Maklin is sounding the alarm. He is currently treating more than 550 HIV-positive patients but says they are weeks away from running out of medication.
“Without medicines in the coming days, it will lead to disaster,” Dr. Maklin warned. His clinic once received over $165,000 annually from USAID, a lifeline that has now disappeared.
The growing crisis sparked a rare public protest earlier this week, when dozens of HIV-positive individuals marched outside the prime minister’s office in Port-au-Prince. In a country where the virus still carries heavy stigma, the protesters did not hide their identities, choosing instead to speak openly to the media in hopes of pressuring the government into action.
Experts fear that Haiti could soon see a rise in HIV infections as treatment options dwindle and gang violence continues to destabilize the nation. Despite pleas for help, organizations like CHOAIDS have so far received no new funding, leaving a vulnerable population hanging in the balance.
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