US pulls plug as Philippines’ HIV efforts are left in limbo

FOR years, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided a huge boost to the Philippines HIV prevention. But now, with Trump halting aid, advocates are scrambling to figure out what comes next— and the clock is ticking. 

LoveYourself, a dedicated community of volunteers fighting HIV in the Philippines, is among the many organizations left grappling with the consequences of halted humanitarian aid, as US President Donald Trump’s decision left a critical void in the country’s battle against the virus.

In an interview with republicasia, Dr. Ronivin Garcia Pagtakhan, Executive Director and Founder of LoveYourself Inc., shared that while the organization had contingency plans in place, they couldn’t help but feel the impact of Trump’s decision. 

“Actually, we started preparing noong nag-announce sila sa WHO, sabi ko, ‘Naku! Nakakaba kasi sinimulan sa WHO’,” shared Dr. Pagtakhan. 

“It happened last week, last Friday. And then the email in the Philippines, we got it last Monday or Tuesday. Na parang suddenly stopped work order for 90 days. Anong ibig sabihin nun? Sino yung mga epektado dun?”

Dr. Pagtakhan said that the first to be affected in their operations were deliveries of the free self-testing kits all over the country. 

“Diba namention ko kanina na free yung mga prep and self testing kits. Pero syempre, yung delivery nun. Yung pag-provide nun sa mga clients natin, hindi libre. Yun yung sinasagot ng USAID,” he said. 

But this wasn’t the biggest problem that the organization is facing. Dr. Pagtakhan said that LoveYourself can sustain this. They can adjust and reallocate resources to absorb this deficiency. 

However, what truly bore the brunt of the blow was the organization’s capacity for innovation. 

“Ang hindi kaya namin i-absorb would be yung mga innovations natin— self-testing, prep at saka ‘yung recons ng campaigns that we are doing, kasi they are all reliant sa mga international funding agency. Kasi, those are [the] programs [that] skill up the things that we are doing,” said the doctor. 

He explained that no matter how successful the turnout of testing in their community centers is, they can only do so much without spreading their resources too thin. What they need now is to upskill more volunteers to keep up with the growing influx of HIV cases.

“We’re just reaching the tip of the iceberg and we need to skill up these programs kasi nagagawa na nga namin yung ginagawa namin. 250,000 testing na nga ‘yun every year. Pero every year, 200% pa rin yung increase ng cases diba. So there’s something wrong. Ibig sabihin, while the effective interventions are happening in the Philippines, skill up is a must.”

And that’s where exactly the role of USAID factors in the equation. They help LoveYourself in getting the funds to fuel these skill up programs, which play a significant role not only in HIV prevention, but also in job opportunities. 

“And suddenly, one day, that Tuesday sinabi sa amin na parang, ‘Okay. You need to stop it for 90 days.’ With no plan, whatsoever. Suddenly, ititigil ko yun. Lahat ng mga empleyado, I think we have 40 people sa LoveYourself, who are employed by the grant, and lahat yun they stop working for 90 days,” told Dr. Pagtakhan. 

“So, in terms of operational support and operation sa LoveYourself, we are not supported. But the man power na sinusuportahan ng USAID, kailangan nilang hindi mag trabaho. They have families, they have lives ng walang heads up.”

Dr. Pagtakhan was also concerned about how the halting of aids could impact their aim to be more inclusive, especially toward those who do not have the capacity to afford HIV services. 

“Syempre yung mga Pinoy, hindi naman lahat— I mean may internet tayo, makakaorder sila, makakapag free consultation sila pero maaaring wala silang pamasahe papunta sa clinic, so kailangan namin ipadala yung test kit o kaya yung prep namin, hindi na [namin] magagawa yun,” he said.

“Syempre yung mga taong may kaya, afford nila yung health care, makakapunta sila sa amin. Pero paano naman yung mga kababayan natin na nasa grassroots at medyo may kakulangang pinasyal? Hindi na nila maa-avail yung service na dati naming nagpo-provide nang free dahil hindi na namin kayang magpa-deliver ng libre.”

“Dati kasi cocontact ka lang sa LoveYourself. Sa Facebook, ime-message mo kami, ‘papadala namin sayo yung commodities ng libre. Ite-telemedicine ka namin ng libre. As in lahat libre, kasi nga yun yung gusto natin e, to reach as much people as possible.”

Telemedicine— or telehealth— is the use of technology, like video calls or apps, to provide medical care and consultations remotely, without needing an in-person visit to a clinic or hospital. But even this can be limited only to those who have access on the internet. 

“Kasi nga yun ‘yung problema e, you’re not able to reach those who need it kasi wala silang accebilities sa health care, so gumagawa tayo ng paraan to make sure that the health that they need, the health services that they need, mapapaabot natin sa kanila,” said Dr. Pagtakhan.

“Kasi kung pag-uusapan lang natin yung mga taong may kaya- kayang mamasahe, kayang pumunta sa community center namin, walang problema. Kasi yung testings sa clinic namin libre, yung treatment sa clinic natin libre, yung prep at yung self cares libre, yung condoms libre. Pero pupunta ka pa sa LoveYourself. Yes, 22 clinics ang LoveYourself, pero hindi maa-accommodate ng 22 clinics yung lahat ng tao at risks.”

Dr. Pagtakhan also expressed concern that individuals with HIV may become more reluctant to seek help due to the inaccessibility of telemedicine, particularly for those without reliable internet access.

“The target of these interventions are the people who are afraid. Who might be at more risk kasi nga takot sila e, mas mababa yung health seeking behavior nila e. Therefore, they opt to go to interventions and programs  na hindi sila directly nakikita, hindi sila directly makikipag-communicate sa mga tao kasi nandun lamang ‘yung level ng confidence nila over the interventions they wanted to access.”

While support for HIV patients in the country will continue, including the provision of life-saving medicines funded by the Philippine government, it’s undeniable that the halt of USAID operations has created a significant gap in resources and services.

When the US Secretary released a statement that they will continue with the USAID operations over life-saving treatments and matters, Dr. Pagtakhan and their colleagues weren’t entirely comforted.

“Tapos kami dito, locally, hindi namin alam kung ano pa ang mangyayari. Kasi vague rin yung statement nung States Secretary na parang, ‘Life saving treatment or Life saving intervention’. Na parang walang nakalagay na definition na ano ba ang definition ng life saving intervention,” he said. 

Dr. Pagtakhan expressed concern that the US definition of ‘life-saving’ may focus solely on stereotypical beliefs, such as those applied to countries like South Africa that primarily emphasize the need for medicine, and not on innovations or other comprehensive approaches.

“Kasi sa South Africa, Life saving intervention ang dali ng ibig sabihin, kasi many countries in  South Africa, US is buying the meds. Sa Pilipinas hindi ganun yung case diba. Ang Pilipinas, iba yung support nila. More on prevention and innovations.”

Dr. Pagtakhan said that USAID alerted them to restart their treatment and testing, but the fate of their prevention programs are still left in limbo. 

“Ibig sabihin, ang sinasabi lang nila, ‘Oh sige papasukin nyo ulo yung employado ng treatment at testing’. Yung prevention, wala pa. So yung mga prevention staff namin, hindi pa namin napapapasok, basically parang ganun.”

Recently, the Philippines has reported a rapidly increasing cases of HIV in the country since our first recorded case in 1984. According to a report by the Department of Health (DOH), the recorded cases of HIV in the Philippines are over 215,400 in 2024 alone, with a 543% increase in infection between 2010-2023. 

In a country where innovations often rely on international support, the Philippines remains at the mercy of more powerful, wealthier nations—those with the authority to redefine which lives are deemed worthy of saving.