People living with HIV and complex or underlying health conditions are losing access to community-based care as a result of the U.S. government funding cuts. A peer counselor in Uganda described not being able to care for patients that have health issues such as diabetes or paralysis, which make frequent or extended travel to obtain care exceptionally difficult.
Date: 8/25
Region: Africa
Country: Uganda
Topic: Gender Equality & Inclusion, Health
Policy Lens: Global Health Security
Additional Context: “We have some clients who are unable to reach the facilities because of other conditions. They could be bedridden, they could be having paralysis. They need... follow-ups, but we don’t have the funds.” -Peer counselor, 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.
Source: Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)