Trump team cancels funding for World AIDS Day commemorations after 37 years
Trump administration will no longer mark World AIDS Day
- The State Department has ended its decades-long tradition of public messaging for World AIDS Day, instructing employees not to use federal funding for commemorative activities.
- This decision is reportedly part of a broader federal government policy to refrain from messaging on any commemorative days, including social media and public engagements.
- A State Department spokesperson stated that "an awareness day is not a strategy," emphasising direct work with foreign governments to save lives.
- The move departs from a tradition dating back to 1993 when President Bill Clinton first issued a Presidential Proclamation for World AIDS Day.
- The change comes as the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a major global HIV/AIDS initiative, has faced funding cutbacks and proposed further reductions by the administration.