Why have evangelical Christians turned their backs on PEPFAR?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUp_oSluMPE

 

South Africa is at the heart of the HIV pandemic. What happens now the money has been cut? | Global development | The Guardian

"South Africa is particularly revolting, because they actually do have the resources."

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jun/17/hiv-aids-south-africa-despair-trump-us-cuts-pepfar-clinics-sex-workers-trans-drug-users 

 

‘It’s made up’: Democrats say Rubio isn’t playing it straight about foreign aid cuts - POLITICO

The State Department would not provide data to support the secretary's repeated claim that 85 percent of the US global AIDS program is operational…

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/09/rubio-pepfar-aids-usaid-democrats-00392794 

 

US evangelical groups urge Trump to spare HIV/Aids program from aid cuts

Christian organizations helped create Pepfar, credited with preventing 25m early deaths, particularly in Africa…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/17/hiv-aids-pepfar-christians-trump

Opinion | I’m a Pro-Life Priest. Anti-Abortion Groups Are Wrong to Oppose PEPFAR. - The New York Times

The debate over PEPFAR kicked off in May when the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, published a report that, without any substantiation, accused PEPFAR of "promoting" abortion. That same report callously referred to H.I.V. as a "lifestyle disease" and framed antiretroviral therapy as a partisan talking point. In doing so, it flouted not only consensus on how to end AIDS but also the Christian teaching that everyone deserves dignity and compassion. In the wake of the Heritage report, some prominent anti-abortion and conservative groups have said they will give negative ratings to elected officials who vote to reauthorize the program in its current iteration...

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/05/opinion/abortion-pepfar.html

Opinion | Partisan Politics Put a Huge Win for Public Health at Risk - The New York Times

Bipartisan support continued through three reauthorizations of the program. That ended this year, when Republicans took over the House with a slim majority that was beholden to the MAGA wing of the party, which has been looking for opportunities to damage any Biden administration priorities. PEPFAR became a target when the Heritage Foundation released a falsehood-ridden report in May saying the administration was using it as a "vehicle to promote its domestic radical social agenda overseas," specifically abortion and L.G.B.T.Q. issues.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/01/opinion/pepfar-abortion-republicans.html