The loss of support for Philippine AIDS programs has hit the group Kagay-an Plus, which monitors the health of people living with HIV in Cagayan de Oro, after US President Donald Trump disbanded the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) due to alleged wasteful spending, cutting millions of dollars for HIV prevention, treatment, and care programs worldwide, including in the Philippines, where 4,007 people living with HIV have been recorded in Northern Mindanao since 1991, with 1,527 in Cagayan de Oro, and 178 new cases reported from January to March this year, making the region a “hot spot” for HIV infections.
