Story perspectives

Activists Die-In Over Funding Cuts Threatening Millions with HIV

6/22/2026

Summary

Activists Protest Cuts

Activists staged a die-in at the Stonewall Inn to protest HIV-AIDS funding cuts.
A new Medicaid rule could force 5-10 million Americans to lose coverage by 2028, endangering HIV patients.
The House plan would cut $225 million from the Ryan White program and end CDC HIV-prevention funding.
Treatment Action Group helped keep the NIH budget flat, preserving $3.3 billion for HIV research.
Activists delivered 250 fake coffins, occupied a House office, and faced arrests.

Summary

Trump Links Aid

State Department said U.S. HIV aid was about 18 percent of South Africa’s HIV budget until January 2025.
Funding fell from $456 million in 2024 to $213 million in 2025 and $25 million in 2026.
U.S. President Donald Trump issued a February 2025 executive order linking alleged Afrikaner discrimination to the phased PEPFAR drawdown and in May 2025 showed “Kill the Boer” chant videos while claiming over a thousand white-farmer burial sites.

History

Historical Context

President George W. Bush announced the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in 2003, committing $15 billion and eventually treating over 3.2 million people worldwide. The program, built on the Office of National AIDS Policy created under Clinton, has saved more than 25 million lives by 2023. Proposed 2025 Medicaid and PEPFAR cuts threaten those gains and have reignited activist opposition.

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Activists Protest Cuts

Activists staged a die-in at the Stonewall Inn to protest HIV-AIDS funding cuts.
A new Medicaid rule could force 5-10 million Americans to lose coverage by 2028, endangering HIV patients.
The House plan would cut $225 million from the Ryan White program and end CDC HIV-prevention funding.
Treatment Action Group helped keep the NIH budget flat, preserving $3.3 billion for HIV research.
Activists delivered 250 fake coffins, occupied a House office, and faced arrests.

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