Latest news with #EmergencyPlanforAIDSRelief
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Maxwell Frost says Elon Musk leaves a ‘dark legacy' as his time in the WH ends
Billionaire Elon Musk arrives for a meeting with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol on March 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by) Elon Musk's tenure as a special government employee in the White House came to an end Friday, prompting Florida Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost to say that his efforts reveal that a 'corporate slash and burn mentality is not how you run a country.' Musk had been leading the so-called 'Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which, according to its website, last updated on May 26, saved taxpayers an estimated $175 billion. However, one watchdog website tracking the cuts says it was more like $16 billion. But there were significant cuts that have been damaging, including to international medical and food assistance programs. 'The legacy will be a dark legacy,' Frost told a Phoenix reporter on Friday during an interview on WMNF-88.5 FM in Tampa. Among the first and most prominent budget cancellations that came from DOGE was to dissolve the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which has funded the majority of U.S. humanitarian and development assistance worldwide to people. That included stopping funding to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), an HIV prevention program that has operated through USAID since 2003. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week that it was 'a lie' to say that anybody around the world has died because of the USAID cuts. However, through a modelling program, a research team at Boston University that studies infectious diseases has estimated that the loss of lives from USAID cuts stands at more than 300,000 worldwide, with more than 200,000 of those being children. 'These USAID cuts are devastating,' Frost said. 'Global health is important to health here. The projections on HIV on how that is going to explode globally … and we could see an epidemic of HIV again in the United States over the coming years because of the way that people travel.' A study published this week by the liberal-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported that the Trump administration and DOGE have implemented new phone service restrictions that the Social Security Administration estimates will require people to make nearly 2 million additional trips to understaffed Social Security field offices every year. 'I've been speaking with folks who receive disability from SSI [Supplemental Security Income] who literally [say] the wait times are longer than they've ever been,' Frost said. 'People are dying, waiting for the benefits that they deserve. And so these cuts were not made in good faith.' Musk and other conservatives like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have bemoaned that President Trump's major tax and spending bill that narrowly passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week doesn't codify the spending cuts made by DOGE over the past four months. However, House Speaker Mike Johnson says that Congress will vote to codify those cuts of up to $9 billion in a bill that will soon be introduced in the House. 'People are seeing impacts now, but they'll see impacts years into the future as well,' says Frost. 'I think this bill that Johnson is bringing to codify some of the DOGE cuts in part is meant to placate Elon. It's why the bill is coming up at the exact moment that he is leaving.' While progressives like Frost hailed Musk's departure from Washington, Florida Republicans were celebrating his accomplishments Friday afternoon. 'Under @elonmusk, @DOGE has done a phenomenal job identifying and helping cancel waste, fraud, and abuse from government,' said Southwest Florida Congressman and 2026 gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds on X. 'As we carry out the annual appropriations process this summer, Congress must follow the lead of DOGE and eliminate this egregious spending once and for all.' 'Just like he launched @SpaceX beyond the stars, @elonmusk propelled @DOGE into orbit — leading the charge to cut waste, fraud, and abuse at hypersonic speed,' said Jacksonville U.S. Rep. Aaron Bean on X. 'His vision for transparency and accountability will continue to reshape government spending and push for real fiscal responsibility. The mission isn't slowing down — it's only gaining altitude!' In his announcement reintroducing legislation this week that would require federal agencies and departments to verify the eligibility of individuals 105 years of age or older for federal benefits. Sarasota area U.S. Rep. Greg Steube credited DOGE for bringing attention to the issue. 'No American who has paid into Social Security and Medicare should see their benefits compromised by scam artists or incompetent bureaucrats,' Rep. Steube said in a statement. 'It shouldn't have required DOGE examining the rolls to ensure 12 million Americans listed as 120 years old or more were finally properly recorded as deceased.' (The Associated Press reported earlier this year that Musk's claims that 'tens of millions' of dead people receiving Social Security checks was 'overstated.') As a 'special government employee,' Musk was forced to end his tenure at the White House on Friday because federal law says such employees are appointed to perform temporary duties 'for a period not to exceed 130 days during any period of 365 days.' Frost said that Musk's temporary status as a federal employee was 'misused' and predicted that 'when Democrats take back the House we're going to have to put some guardrails on that designation because it was misused for Elon Musk.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Straits Times
Gilead commits to HIV prevention rollout for low-income countries despite funding uncertainty
Gilead Sciences says it still plans to supply its twice-yearly injection for preventing HIV infection in low-income countries if it wins U.S. approval despite funding uncertainty over the Trump Administration's pullback in aid spending. Some AIDS experts, including activists and doctors, say the Gilead drug, lenacapavir, could help end the 44-year-old epidemic that infects 1.3 million people a year and is estimated by the World Health Organization to have killed more than 42 million. An FDA approval decision is expected by June 19 for lenacapavir, which proved to be nearly 100% effective at preventing HIV in large trials. If the Food and Drug Administration green lights the drug, and its view is seconded by the WHO, the shots could start to roll out early in 2026 to at least 2 million people in 18 low-income countries based on Gilead's agreement with the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund, a worldwide partnership targeting HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. Gilead agreed to provide lenacapavir at cost for two-to-three years while six generic drugmakers, which were granted licenses to make the medicine for low-income countries, ramp up production. Experts said a successful launch of a long-acting HIV prevention drug could help stall the epidemic. Until recently, the only pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) options for people at high risk of infection were daily pills, requiring careful adherence to be effective. "You can foresee a day where there are no new HIV diagnoses. It doesn't happen if we only do this in the U.S.," Gilead Chief Commercial Officer Johanna Mercier said. "We need to make sure we have a global approach to this launch." PEPFAR being part of the effort is Gilead's intent and goal, Mercier said. "Unfortunately, if they're not part of that mix, our goal is still to meet that objective of 2 million people getting access." Wall Street has a close eye on lenacapavir, one of the highest-profile drugs to undergo FDA review since President Donald Trump named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary and promised to upend the status quo. Most of the drug's profits are expected in the U.S., with annual sales reaching $1 billion by next year, according to analysts' estimates compiled by LSEG. 'INCREDIBLE DISMAY' Whether all of the agreed funding for low-income countries - most of which are in Africa - will come through is unclear. Countries that rely on aid are already reeling from funding cuts by the Trump Administration, including to PEPFAR, and AIDS researchers are bracing for the worst. The United Nations program on HIV/AIDS earlier this month said many HIV prevention programs supported by PEPFAR were stalled, although services for pregnant and breastfeeding women were technically exempt from the cuts. Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund, told Reuters the group intends to fund as much of the lenacapavir rollout as possible, but it will need to start slowly. "It's not just the uncertainty over PEPFAR's funding that's an issue, but the uncertainty over our funding," Sands said, adding that the group's first priority is treating people already infected with the deadly virus. Much will depend on the success of the Global Fund's effort to raise $18 billion to fund its work from 2027-2029. The U.S. is its largest donor, committing $6 billion in the previous funding round. It is unclear what the U.S. may provide this round, or whether other big governments will step up. UNAIDS estimates that the permanent discontinuation of HIV prevention and treatment programs supported by PEPFAR would lead to an additional 6.6 million new HIV infections between 2025 and 2029. The U.S. State Department, which oversees PEPFAR, did not respond to a request for comment. Gilead declined to comment on its manufacturing cost for lenacapavir, whose U.S. price is likely to be on par with current preventive medications at around $25,000 per year. ViiV Healthcare's Apretude, an injection given every two months, costs about 124.20 pounds ($168) in low- and middle-income countries. Mitchell Warren, executive director of the AIDS nonprofit AVAC, estimates the eventual annual cost at $100-$120. The lower the price, the more people who could receive it, he said. Warren said PEPFAR could still participate, and others may come forward. The Gates Foundation and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation are "actively involved in all of these conversations," he said, as is the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Linda-Gail Bekker of the University of Cape Town, who led lenacapavir clinical trials in South Africa and Uganda, said she was elated when she first saw the findings. "The huge feeling I have now is one of incredible dismay," said Bekker of uncertainty over the Trump administration's commitment to PEPFAR and HIV prevention in poor nations. "It felt like the stars were aligning, and one of the stars has fallen out of the sky." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
2 days ago
- Health
- The Star
Gilead commits to HIV prevention rollout for low-income countries despite funding uncertainty
(Reuters) -Gilead Sciences says it still plans to supply its twice-yearly injection for preventing HIV infection in low-income countries if it wins U.S. approval despite funding uncertainty over the Trump Administration's pullback in aid spending. Some AIDS experts, including activists and doctors, say the Gilead drug, lenacapavir, could help end the 44-year-old epidemic that infects 1.3 million people a year and is estimated by the World Health Organization to have killed more than 42 million. An FDA approval decision is expected by June 19 for lenacapavir, which proved to be nearly 100% effective at preventing HIV in large trials. If the Food and Drug Administration green lights the drug, and its view is seconded by the WHO, the shots could start to roll out early in 2026 to at least 2 million people in 18 low-income countries based on Gilead's agreement with the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund, a worldwide partnership targeting HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. Gilead agreed to provide lenacapavir at cost for two-to-three years while six generic drugmakers, which were granted licenses to make the medicine for low-income countries, ramp up production. Experts said a successful launch of a long-acting HIV prevention drug could help stall the epidemic. Until recently, the only pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) options for people at high risk of infection were daily pills, requiring careful adherence to be effective. "You can foresee a day where there are no new HIV diagnoses. It doesn't happen if we only do this in the U.S.," Gilead Chief Commercial Officer Johanna Mercier said. "We need to make sure we have a global approach to this launch." PEPFAR being part of the effort is Gilead's intent and goal, Mercier said. "Unfortunately, if they're not part of that mix, our goal is still to meet that objective of 2 million people getting access." Wall Street has a close eye on lenacapavir, one of the highest-profile drugs to undergo FDA review since President Donald Trump named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary and promised to upend the status quo. Most of the drug's profits are expected in the U.S., with annual sales reaching $1 billion by next year, according to analysts' estimates compiled by LSEG. 'INCREDIBLE DISMAY' Whether all of the agreed funding for low-income countries - most of which are in Africa - will come through is unclear. Countries that rely on aid are already reeling from funding cuts by the Trump Administration, including to PEPFAR, and AIDS researchers are bracing for the worst. The United Nations program on HIV/AIDS earlier this month said many HIV prevention programs supported by PEPFAR were stalled, although services for pregnant and breastfeeding women were technically exempt from the cuts. Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund, told Reuters the group intends to fund as much of the lenacapavir rollout as possible, but it will need to start slowly. "It's not just the uncertainty over PEPFAR's funding that's an issue, but the uncertainty over our funding," Sands said, adding that the group's first priority is treating people already infected with the deadly virus. Much will depend on the success of the Global Fund's effort to raise $18 billion to fund its work from 2027-2029. The U.S. is its largest donor, committing $6 billion in the previous funding round. It is unclear what the U.S. may provide this round, or whether other big governments will step up. UNAIDS estimates that the permanent discontinuation of HIV prevention and treatment programs supported by PEPFAR would lead to an additional 6.6 million new HIV infections between 2025 and 2029. The U.S. State Department, which oversees PEPFAR, did not respond to a request for comment. Gilead declined to comment on its manufacturing cost for lenacapavir, whose U.S. price is likely to be on par with current preventive medications at around $25,000 per year. ViiV Healthcare's Apretude, an injection given every two months, costs about 124.20 pounds ($168) in low- and middle-income countries. Mitchell Warren, executive director of the AIDS nonprofit AVAC, estimates the eventual annual cost at $100-$120. The lower the price, the more people who could receive it, he said. Warren said PEPFAR could still participate, and others may come forward. The Gates Foundation and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation are "actively involved in all of these conversations," he said, as is the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Linda-Gail Bekker of the University of Cape Town, who led lenacapavir clinical trials in South Africa and Uganda, said she was elated when she first saw the findings. "The huge feeling I have now is one of incredible dismay," said Bekker of uncertainty over the Trump administration's commitment to PEPFAR and HIV prevention in poor nations. "It felt like the stars were aligning, and one of the stars has fallen out of the sky." (Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago and Deena Beasley in Los Angeles; additional reporting by Jennifer Rigby in London; editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot)
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Gilead commits to HIV prevention rollout for low-income countries despite funding uncertainty
By Julie Steenhuysen and Deena Beasley (Reuters) -Gilead Sciences says it still plans to supply its twice-yearly injection for preventing HIV infection in low-income countries if it wins U.S. approval despite funding uncertainty over the Trump Administration's pullback in aid spending. Some AIDS experts, including activists and doctors, say the Gilead drug, lenacapavir, could help end the 44-year-old epidemic that infects 1.3 million people a year and is estimated by the World Health Organization to have killed more than 42 million. An FDA approval decision is expected by June 19 for lenacapavir, which proved to be nearly 100% effective at preventing HIV in large trials. If the Food and Drug Administration green lights the drug, and its view is seconded by the WHO, the shots could start to roll out early in 2026 to at least 2 million people in 18 low-income countries based on Gilead's agreement with the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund, a worldwide partnership targeting HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. Gilead agreed to provide lenacapavir at cost for two-to-three years while six generic drugmakers, which were granted licenses to make the medicine for low-income countries, ramp up production. Experts said a successful launch of a long-acting HIV prevention drug could help stall the epidemic. Until recently, the only pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) options for people at high risk of infection were daily pills, requiring careful adherence to be effective. "You can foresee a day where there are no new HIV diagnoses. It doesn't happen if we only do this in the U.S.," Gilead Chief Commercial Officer Johanna Mercier said. "We need to make sure we have a global approach to this launch." PEPFAR being part of the effort is Gilead's intent and goal, Mercier said. "Unfortunately, if they're not part of that mix, our goal is still to meet that objective of 2 million people getting access." Wall Street has a close eye on lenacapavir, one of the highest-profile drugs to undergo FDA review since President Donald Trump named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary and promised to upend the status quo. Most of the drug's profits are expected in the U.S., with annual sales reaching $1 billion by next year, according to analysts' estimates compiled by LSEG. 'INCREDIBLE DISMAY' Whether all of the agreed funding for low-income countries - most of which are in Africa - will come through is unclear. Countries that rely on aid are already reeling from funding cuts by the Trump Administration, including to PEPFAR, and AIDS researchers are bracing for the worst. The United Nations program on HIV/AIDS earlier this month said many HIV prevention programs supported by PEPFAR were stalled, although services for pregnant and breastfeeding women were technically exempt from the cuts. Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund, told Reuters the group intends to fund as much of the lenacapavir rollout as possible, but it will need to start slowly. "It's not just the uncertainty over PEPFAR's funding that's an issue, but the uncertainty over our funding," Sands said, adding that the group's first priority is treating people already infected with the deadly virus. Much will depend on the success of the Global Fund's effort to raise $18 billion to fund its work from 2027-2029. The U.S. is its largest donor, committing $6 billion in the previous funding round. It is unclear what the U.S. may provide this round, or whether other big governments will step up. UNAIDS estimates that the permanent discontinuation of HIV prevention and treatment programs supported by PEPFAR would lead to an additional 6.6 million new HIV infections between 2025 and 2029. The U.S. State Department, which oversees PEPFAR, did not respond to a request for comment. Gilead declined to comment on its manufacturing cost for lenacapavir, whose U.S. price is likely to be on par with current preventive medications at around $25,000 per year. ViiV Healthcare's Apretude, an injection given every two months, costs about 124.20 pounds ($168) in low- and middle-income countries. Mitchell Warren, executive director of the AIDS nonprofit AVAC, estimates the eventual annual cost at $100-$120. The lower the price, the more people who could receive it, he said. Warren said PEPFAR could still participate, and others may come forward. The Gates Foundation and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation are "actively involved in all of these conversations," he said, as is the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Linda-Gail Bekker of the University of Cape Town, who led lenacapavir clinical trials in South Africa and Uganda, said she was elated when she first saw the findings. "The huge feeling I have now is one of incredible dismay," said Bekker of uncertainty over the Trump administration's commitment to PEPFAR and HIV prevention in poor nations. "It felt like the stars were aligning, and one of the stars has fallen out of the sky."
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Korea Herald
4 days ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
[Jeffrey Frankel] Foreign aid, now missed
'Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.' When Joni Mitchell sang that line in 1970, she was lamenting the destruction of the environment, but the sentiment applies to many issues. Today, we can add official development assistance to the list. For some 80 years, the United States spent more on humanitarian assistance, economic development programs and other types of foreign aid than any other government. In the 2023 fiscal year, the US government disbursed $72 billion, with much more coming from private NGOs and individual citizens. But the US does not spend the most as a share of its income: by that measure, the US contributes just 0.24 percent — a quarter of what northern European countries give — putting it in 24th place globally. Moreover, foreign aid accounts for just 1 percent of total US government spending — a far cry from the 25 percent many Americans believe the US allocates. Many Americans, including some prominent scholars, believe that foreign aid has a negligible impact, with some, such as Dambisa Moyo and William Easterly, arguing that it does more harm than good. Critics highlight examples of misguided aid programs falling prey to mismanagement, government overreach, or corruption, including Vietnam in the 1960s, Zaire in the 1980s and Afghanistan in the 2000s. While some economists, such as Paul Collier, insist that foreign aid is useful — especially when certain conditions are met — the dominant message seems to be that foreign aid is suspect. But now foreign aid is gone, or at least going fast. Soon after US President Donald Trump returned to the White House, his administration — and, in particular, his unelected billionaire crony Elon Musk — began frantically dismantling the US Agency for International Development. Almost immediately, reports began flooding in: what was being defunded were often life-saving, high-return projects. Since George W. Bush launched the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in 2003, the program has saved millions of lives from HIV and AIDS, especially in Africa. The President's Malaria Initiative has prevented two billion cases of malaria over the last 20 years, and halved the mortality rate. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which receives US government support, has vaccinated more than a billion children against measles, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and other potentially fatal diseases, preventing an estimated 19 million deaths. Polio has been eliminated in all but two countries, and smallpox has been eliminated everywhere. These efforts have contributed to a steep decline in child mortality globally: today, 4 percent of children die before their fifth birthday, compared to 40 percent a century ago. Foreign aid also enabled the development and diffusion of improved crop varieties, as well as synthetic fertilizers, new pesticides and modern irrigation, in the second half of the twentieth century. This so-called Green Revolution in agriculture doubled cereal crop yields in Asia; enabled many countries, such as India, to become self-sufficient in food; and raised incomes in many developing economies. This contributed to a reduction in infant mortality by 2-5 percentage points, from a baseline of 18 percent, in the developing world. The US Marshall Plan achieved spectacular success in helping European economies recover from World War II, and in laying the groundwork for 80 years of relative global peace and prosperity. More recently, foreign aid has played a pivotal role in enabling Ukraine to withstand the worst attack on a European country's sovereign territory in the postwar era. The US reaps massive benefits from the aid it provides. One need only recall the COVID-19 pandemic to see that participation in global health initiatives is not pure charity, especially when it comes to infectious diseases like Ebola, HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis. More fundamentally, international assistance has been a pillar of US soft power. And that soft power has been at least as important as military might in sustaining US global leadership since the Cold War. But now the Trump administration is assiduously undermining it — to China's benefit, no doubt. The effect of foreign aid on economic growth is difficult to quantify because so many other causal factors are involved. Moreover, much of US aid is designed to advance political or military objectives. The top recipients of US foreign aid, after Ukraine, are Israel, Jordan and Egypt. Nonetheless, we know that reduced morbidity and mortality, and improved nutrition, can boost an economy's performance. It thus stands to reason that foreign aid is a contributor to development, even if not the most important one. The US undoubtedly benefits from having more developed, higher-performing trading and commercial partners. Why, then, has the pessimistic view of foreign aid dominated public discourse for so long? One explanation is that the pessimistic view of everything has prevailed for years. A 2018 survey showed that a substantial majority of people in rich countries believed that the child mortality rate in poor countries had either risen or stayed the same over the previous 20 years; in fact, child mortality had been halved. And a whopping 80 percent of people in rich countries believed that the share of people in extreme poverty had either plateaued or risen, even though it fell steeply from 1990 to 2013. If people are so wrong about these trends, how can they possibly know about the role foreign aid played in driving them? Of course, foreign aid has its flaws and limitations, including instances of inefficiency, mismanagement, or unintended side effects. But whatever the limitations of foreign aid in the past, it is clear that Trump's destructive approach is making things far worse. Jeffrey Frankel is a professor of capital formation and growth at Harvard University. The views expressed here are the writer's own. — Ed.
