United States faces protest over Trump HIV policy at Rio AIDS conference

Activists disrupted a United States government session at the International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro, interrupting the presentation of the “America First Global Health Strategy” by interim global AIDS coordinator Jeff Graham. Demonstrators seized the microphone, used whistles and chanted slogans such as “You lie, people die” and called for the restoration of PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary Rebecca Bunnell, second‑in‑command of the PEPFAR implementation team, acknowledged that the new approach must serve “all people at risk,” including key populations such as sex workers, men who have sex with men and people who inject drugs. She cited a recent study showing 1,714 HIV service sites worldwide had closed and that more than one‑fifth of partner organizations had permanently stopped at least one clinical activity for these groups. Nigerian AIDS director Temitope Ilori also spoke about the policy’s impact on programmes for key populations.