Trump will send funds from HIV funds to detain and arrest migrant children
According to sources familiar with the budget policy of the administration of the US President Donald Trump, the funds allocated by the Department of Health and Social Services for the implementation of the federal program "Ryan White" to help poor HIV-positive people will be used to pay for the arrests and arrests of migrant children, writes the portal Slate.
According to sources citing some confidential documents, part of the funding from the government's program for the care of people living with HIV / AIDS in the United States has already been placed at the disposal of the Refugee Agency.
The Slate portal claims that "the process of transferring these funds has already begun," and the Department intends to apply to Congress for additional appropriations.
Program to Assist Poor HIV-Positive People Ryan White, founded back in 1990, was funded by several presidential administrations and is currently engaged in "providing comprehensive support, including both primary health care and care for people living with HIV".
David Stacy, director of government affairs for the Human Rights Campaign, noted that the brutality of the Trump administration in relation to unregistered children and families has become unprecedented.
"Now we learn that they [the US Administration] are considering withdrawing funds from health care programs for people living with HIV and refugees to pay for the president's heartless obsession with imprisoned children ..."
"The Ryan White program is one of the most important in the field of public health, and it is inconceivable that the Trump administration diverts funds from HIV treatment to finance attacks on children and their families ..."
As pinkNews reports, the policy in the field of HIV treatment and prevention has seriously suffered with the arrival of the Trump administration. The elected president was closed by the Office of National AIDS Policy in the White House and fired all members of the President's Advisory Council on HIV / AIDS, created by Bill Clinton.
Seeing such steps, former US President George W. Bush sent a warning to Trump published earlier in the Washington Post concerning proposals for the budget of the US government's international HIV / AIDS program and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Control (PEPFAR).
"My administration," writes Bush, "launched PEPFAR in 2003 to combat the HIV / AIDS pandemic that threatened to destroy entire generations on the African continent. Almost 15 years later, the program achieved remarkable results ... Today, thanks to the support of many foreign governments, partner investments, the power of the African people and the generosity of Americans, nearly 12 million lives were saved ..."
"Some people say that we have enough problems at home, and we should not spend money abroad. I argue that we should not spend money on programs that do not work, whether at home or abroad", Bush believes.
"The preservation of nearly 12 million lives is proof that PEPFAR works, and I urge our government to fully fund it. We are on the threshold of a generation free of AIDS, but people in Africa still need our help", the former president added.
Barack Obama also earlier warned about the importance of maintaining funding for HIV / AIDS projects.
According to him, more needs to be done to reach those who risk getting HIV, and the United States supports all steps to form an adequate response to this crisis and work together with the international community to put an end to the HIV epidemic by 2030.
"With the support of PEPFAR, over 11 million people have begun to receive the necessary treatment, and thanks to contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, including a pledge of $ 4 billion through 2019, currently more than 18 million HIV-positive people in the world receive treatment and care".
However, Obama warned, "despite the fact that in recent decades we have moved far ahead, our work is not yet complete, and today there is an urgent need for hard work ... accelerating the progress we have achieved will require the efforts and passion of each representative of society and every government in the world. "