The United States Agency for International Development ( USAID ) was instrumental in saving Dmytro Sherembey’s life and ensuring the survival of thousands of HIV-positive Ukrainians, according to the Ukrainian man who had been living with HIV for 24 years. ” I’m intact thanks to USAID”, Sherembey was quoted as saying to the BBC.
Sherembey, the head of 100 per cent Living, the country’s largest patient-led company, voiced concerns over the choice by US President Donald Trump to wait almost all foreign support for 90 days, casting the future of USAID into question.
Sherembey condemned the ice, calling it “barbaric” and adding,” We had returned to the Stone Age”.
Sherembey had previously told the BBC,” Every subsequent HIV-positive people in Ukraine was identified kudos to this program. For him and hundreds of people, the stakes were high. ” If my doctor ran out of this treatment, I would have had to hunt for it abroad”, he explained, stressing that options were limited. ” You don’t simply go to a store and purchase these drugs. You don’t get them on the black business. HIV-positive people below had no options”.
Stores containing crucial HIV drugs were bombed when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. USAID intervened by offering immediate repairs and ensuring continuity of treatment for those in need. Sherembey expressed concern that one person’s choice might prevent the British people from funding the entire help.
Trump, a long-time critique of foreign assistance, had claimed USAID was run by “radical kept loons” and accused it of” great scam” without providing information. The money expulsion had already had significant effects around the world, particularly in places like Afghanistan, where USAID was a big donation.
For Sherembey, the effect had already been felt. ” The coming appeared dark, and the impact on patients was massive”, he said. The freeze was disenfranchise those who relied on USAID-funded programs of life-saving medicine, leaving them with some alternatives.
Sherembey’s problems were shared by others around the world, including activists in Iran and pupils in Egypt whose prospects were now uncertain, as reviews suggested plans to merge USAID with the state office and staff may be put on leave.
According to reports, the Trump administration intends to combine the express division and USAID. Taus of employees around the world may soon be taking vacations, according to status secretary of state Marco Rubio, who has taken over as acting head of the organization.
The recently established department of government efficiency ( DOGE ), led by Elon Musk‘s cost-cutting task force, has identified USAID as a target for budget reductions.
