Why is the US ending AIDS funding for South Africa?

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  While there is not a whole lot in Washington that people agree on, somehow,

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  for the last two decades, a massive program to curb HIV and AIDS has continued to have support

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  and financial backing from Republicans and Democrats alike.

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  It was such a big deal to George W. Bush when it was started

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  that he announced this program, known as PEPFAR, in his State of the Union address

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  in 2003. Today on the continent of Africa, nearly 30 million people have the AIDS virus.

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  It's been described as the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease in the world.

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  And to meet a severe and urgent crisis abroad tonight, I proposed the Emergency Plan for Age Relief,

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  a work of mercy beyond all current international efforts to help the people of Africa.

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  Over the years, PEPFAR reports that it has saved an estimated 26 million lives.

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  I had some disagreements with my predecessor,

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  but one of the outstanding things that President Bush did was to initiate the PEPFAR program.

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  Even President Trump was praising the program in his first term.

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  We have invested in better health and opportunity all over the world through programs like PEPFAR,

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  which funds AIDS relief.

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  But last Friday, the State Department announced that it would be ending its support for the program to South Africa.

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  The United Nations warned that this move could cost lives.

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  Please do not take money away because you're taking lives away.

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