US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has approved an “Emergency Humanitarian Waiver”, which will allow people to continue accessing HIV treatment funded by the US across 55 countries worldwide.

UNAIDS welcomed the waiver which ensures millions of people living with HIV can continue to receive life-saving medication during the assessment of US foreign development assistance.

United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the world’s leading HIV initiative directly supports more than 20 million people living with HIV.

The figure represents two-thirds of all people living with the virus.

“This urgent decision recognises PEPFAR’s critical role in the AIDS response and restores hope to people living with HIV,” UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima said in a statement.

The US Department of State recently announced an immediate 90-day funding pause for all foreign assistance, including for funding and services supported by PEPFAR.

The executive order announcing a “90-day pause in United States foreign development assistance for assessment of programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy” was one of the first major foreign policy decisions of the new administration.

The waiver approves the continuation or resumption of “life-saving humanitarian assistance” which applies to core life-saving medicine and medical services, including HIV treatment, as well as to supplies necessary to deliver such assistance.

UNAIDS said it will continue with efforts to ensure that all people living with or affected by HIV are served and that other key components of PEPFAR’s life-saving efforts, including service delivery and services for HIV prevention, care, and support for orphans and vulnerable children are continued.

UNAIDS has encouraged President Donald J. Trump to prioritise the U.S. government’s leadership in the global HIV response to achieve the shared goal of ending AIDS.

UNAIDS leads the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

The organisation unites the efforts of 11 UN organisations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank.