Additional Context: “We were expecting that at least by March 15th [we would have a delivery of ART]. But til now they are still promising the delivery. Nothing is available and a big number of exposed infants of course are at the verge of contracting HIV and the mothers themselves also their VL, their viral loads, [are increasing] since the ART is not in abundance. They [the pregnant women] keep missing appointments and those that are able to get to the facilities, they are given just two weeks or one month and yet most of them at times they are getting from distant places so it’s affecting their adherence. So we are seeing viral loads of clients shooting up.” — Clinical officer, Uganda

This information was first published in an August 2025 research brief by Physicians for Human Rights entitled "On the Brink of Catastrophe: U.S. Foreign Aid Disruption to HIV Services in Tanzania and Uganda.” This research brief draws on 29 oral history interviews, including five focus groups, with doctors, nurses, peer counselors, people living with HIV, key population members, and non-governmental organization staff conducted in Tanzania and Uganda in April 2025. To document the impacts of the U.S. foreign aid freeze and HIV funding cuts, the multidisciplinary study team used purposive and snowball sampling in Moshi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Fort Portal, Kampala, Kasese, and Tororo, Uganda. Participants had explicit control over how personal information was shared, with consent and demographic forms tailored to individual preferences. 

Source: Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)