Prince Harry has warned that four million people could die as a result of cuts to HIV and Aids programs, mirroring data produced on the impact of American funding cuts.
The Duke of Sussex teamed up with Charlize Theron and Earvin “Magic” Johnson to urge unspecified governments to restore funding that had been slashed from HIV prevention programs worldwide, in support of a campaign by UNAIDS.
And without naming any particular country, Harry gave a dire warning about the consequences if the funding is not restored: “Without urgent action to reverse these crippling funding cuts, 6 million more people will become infected with HIV while 4 million will die from AIDS-related causes within the next four years.”
A video the three stars recorded together even went as far as to suggest there had been cuts by multiple governments, creating a clear distance between their appeal and President Donald Trump’s cuts.
However, in reality, the figures quoted by Harry appear to have been drawn from research specifically into American cuts to a program called PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, started by former President George W. Bush in 2003.
An annual report by UNAIDS in July read: “UNAIDS projections show that a permanent discontinuation of support from the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for HIV treatment and prevention could lead to more than 4 million additional AIDS-related deaths and more than 6 million additional new HIV infections by 2030.”
A spokesperson for Prince Harry told Newsweek: “The film was not explicitly aimed at any one individual, it was more generally about reminding all leaders and those with influence that there is still work to do in the fight against HIV/AIDS.”
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment.
Prince Harry and Trump
The campaign and Harry’s own comments clearly made an effort to avoid starting an argument with Trump over the cuts to international aid. However, those same cuts very clearly provide the backdrop to the projected surge in death that Harry warned was approaching over the next four years.
In that respect, this is the closest Harry has come to criticizing Trump in years, after, together with his wife, Meghan Markle, the Sussexes kept a low profile during the 2024 presidential election.
Donald Trump’s Cuts to USAID and PEPFAR
PEPFAR had been largely funded through USAID, which was formally closed in July. The State Department took over PEPFAR, meaning it has survived the cull, but UNAIDS still reported major cuts as of July.
“HIV programmes across the world are struggling from the sudden, drastic reductions in funding for the global HIV response announced by the United States Government in early 2025,” the UNAIDS report said.
“PEPFAR had committed $4.3 billion in bilateral support in 2025. Those services were stopped overnight when the United States Government shifted its foreign assistance strategies.
“Disruptions are being felt across the HIV response and pose a huge risk of increased mortality, a surge of new HIV infections, and the development of resistance to the most commonly used treatment regimens. Urgent action and revived solidarity are needed to sustain the progress made and prevent a resurgence of HIV.”
Harry’s statement read: “Right now, babies are being born with HIV due to interruptions in antiretroviral treatment for their mothers. Without urgent action to reverse these crippling funding cuts, 6 million more people will become infected with HIV while 4 million will die from AIDS-related causes within the next four years.
“It is not just the at-risk communities that will be affected. We’ve proven that sustained investment saves lives and builds stronger communities. Abandoning this life-saving work now would be a devastating betrayal of progress for the millions who depend on these essential services.”
Trump passed an executive order in January, which stated that: “The United States foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values. They serve to destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations internal to and among countries.
“It is the policy of United States that no further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States.”
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