What’s going on with Trump’s cuts to PrEP funding?

Wait, did Trump just cut PrEP funding for queer and trans people? And if you are an American on PrEP, is your prescription at risk?

In January, U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered a 90-day freeze on foreign aid. That freeze included the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which is a program that provides HIV testing and medication around the world. As of September 2024, PEPFAR supported life-saving antiretroviral therapy for 20.6 million people, including 566,000 children living with HIV.

But a subsequent memo from Rubio has raised concerns about the Trump administration’s funding for PrEP overall. A document from Rubio about the foreign aid freeze specifically stated that anything having to do with “gender or DEI ideology programs” and “transgender surgeries” would not be funded while another document mentioned that PEPFAR-funded PrEP would only be given to pregnant and breastfeeding women.

While currently the foreign aid freeze has no effect on domestic PrEP prescriptions, the effects of this funding freeze have already been devastating. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS estimates that there have been thousands of new HIV infections worldwide in just the first two weeks since the funding freeze was introduced. 

Senior editor Mel Woods breaks down what you need to know.