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Feb 2025
20m 6s

What’s at stake for Africa if Trump shut...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

One person living with HIV has described how these cut would change their life and said "please tell the American government that this is a death trap for us. If I don’t get my tablets next month and the following month, how much longer will I have to live?”

USAID—the United States Agency for International Development—has funded life-saving aid across Africa for decades. Programmes assisting with famine, disease control, and poverty are now at-risk following President Trump's decision to cut its budget and merge the agency with the State Department.

From HIV patients fearing a “death sentence”, to food aid programmes coming to a sudden stop, the effects are already being felt across Africa. Alan Kasujja speaks to Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, about the consequences of these cuts and whether African governments can step up in the face of an uncertain future for global aid.

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