WHO Warns Nigeria Among Countries at Risk of HIV Treatment Shortages

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday, March 17, listed Nigeria among eight countries at risk of running out of HIV treatment supplies soon.

This follows the Trump administration’s decision to pause U.S. foreign aid, which has “substantially disrupted” the supply of HIV treatments in these nations.

The global health agency stated that Nigeria, Haiti, Kenya, Lesotho, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Ukraine could exhaust their HIV treatment supplies in the coming months, according to a report by Reuters quoting WHO’s Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus.

“The disruptions to HIV programs could undo 20 years of progress,” WHO Director-General Ghebreyesus was quoted to have said at a press conference.

He added that this could lead to over 10 million additional HIV cases and three million HIV-related deaths.

Efforts to tackle HIV, polio, malaria, and tuberculosis have been impacted by the U.S. foreign aid pause implemented by President Donald Trump shortly after taking office in January.

The WHO-coordinated Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network, which includes over 700 sites worldwide, also faces imminent shutdown, the agency said. This comes at a time when measles is making a resurgence in the United States.

The United States has a “responsibility to ensure that if it withdraws direct funding for countries, it’s done in an orderly and humane way that allows them to find alternative sources of funding,” Ghebreyesus said on Monday.

Funding shortages could also force 80% of WHO-supported essential healthcare services in Afghanistan to close, the agency stated in a separate statement.

As of March 4, 167 health facilities had shut down due to funding shortages, and without urgent intervention, over 220 more facilities could close by June.

The United States’ plans to exit the WHO have also forced the UN agency, which typically receives about a fifth of its overall annual funding from the U.S., to freeze hiring and initiate budget cuts.

The WHO announced on Monday that it plans to reduce its funding target for emergency operations to $872 million from $1.2 billion in the 2026-2027 budget period.