The U.S. State Department clarified on Saturday that the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)—the world’s largest HIV initiative—is exempt from the 90-day pause on foreign aid ordered by President Donald Trump.
Shortly after taking office on January 20, Trump halted all foreign aid contributions for review under his "America First" policy. While emergency food aid was granted an exemption earlier, the lack of clarity left aid organizations uncertain about which programs could continue.
The State Department's Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy issued a formal memo confirming that PEPFAR remains operational, allowing for:
HIV care and treatment, including testing and counseling
Prevention and treatment of infections such as tuberculosis (TB)
Laboratory services and medicine supply chains
Mother-to-child HIV transmission prevention
The memo stated that all other activities not explicitly mentioned require express approval.
PEPFAR directly supports over 20 million people living with HIV worldwide, accounting for two-thirds of all those receiving treatment.
Meanwhile, the wider foreign aid freeze remains in place. As of Tuesday, all U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) payments were suspended, marking the first halt in funding since October 1.
Additionally, sources indicate that the Trump administration is considering placing USAID under direct State Department control, a move that would significantly reshape U.S. foreign aid policy.
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Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan will hold an urgent high-level meeting under a joint defence pact to discuss ways to support the kingdom amid attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis. The meeting comes as Tehran seeks to distance itself from the rapid advance of its Houthi allies.
World leaders return to the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday for the fourth day of the high-level General Debate, with speeches and diplomatic meetings continuing throughout the day.
Finland and Sweden deployed fighter aircraft on Thursday after a group of Russian military planes was detected over the Gulf of Finland, the Finnish Air Force reported on Friday (25 September).
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday, 24 September, for talks focused on trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan and the war with Iran.
Fourteen Kazakh military personnel died after being swept out to sea during a naval training exercise in the western Mangistau region, authorities said on Thursday.
Chinese researchers have developed the world’s smallest CT scanner, a portable device designed to produce images of tiny fossils and archaeological relics.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 17 September 2026. These are the top five stories making headlines in the field of health.
Doctors in St. Louis have successfully separated Ethiopian two-year-old twin girls who were born joined at the head after a months-long series of complex operations culminating in a nearly 25-hour final procedure, doctors said on Wednesday.
Tobacco use may significantly reduce fertility in both men and women, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) publication that highlights growing evidence linking smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke with reproductive health problems.
A record-breaking heatwave that swept across western Europe in late June has been linked to more than 10,000 excess deaths, according to newly released mortality data, highlighting the growing human toll of extreme temperatures across the continent.
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