Truth Wins Out expressed outrage over a dystopian State Department memo that callously cancels HIV-prevention medication for high-risk populations in more than 50 countries participating in The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The memo was obtained by Truth Wins Out through concerned staff overseeing international aid programs.

The memo, circulated by the State Department’s Global Health Security and Diplomacy program, offered stringent new guidelines that provide Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) HIV prevention medications only for pregnant women. This leaves LGBTQ people, sex workers and heterosexuals who believe they are at increased risk for HIV without protection from infection.

“We are outraged by the Trump Administration’s puritanical distribution of life-saving medication that brazenly discriminates against anyone not having sex exclusively for procreation,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “This is Project 2025 in action and could cruelly lead to the infection, and eventual death, of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Aren’t conservatives supposed to be pro-life, or do they only care about ‘life’ for those who are just like them?”

The document, “HIV Care & Treatment and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission Activities,” explicitly outlines, for staff and contractors at USAID and the CDC, new guidelines for HIV care. According to the document:

• Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) should be offered only to pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBFW). PBFW may receive either oral or long-acting PrEP.
• Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) should be offered only to pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBFW; see section above) during this pause of U.S. Foreign Assistance. PBFW may receive either oral or long-acting PrEP.
• Note: People other than PBFW who may be at high risk of HIV infection or were previously initiated on a PrEP option cannot be offered PEPFAR-funded PrEP during this pause of U.S. Foreign Assistance or until further notice.

Additionally, the following activities that are not allowed:

• Population-based HIV surveys (PHIA and BBS)
• Violence against children (VACs) surveys
• Program-based HIV surveillance (e.g., case surveillance, recent infection surveillance, HIV drug resistance surveillance, ANC surveillance, mortality surveillance, etc.)
• Community-led monitoring information systems
• Implementation science projects
• Planning and targeting for FY2026

“There is no other explanation for these guidelines other than cruel, vindictive behavior meant to cause pain and suffering to vulnerable communities disfavored by President Trump’s right-wing base,” said TWO’s Besen. “This backward policy is anathema to improving public health and will lead to HIV-outbreaks globally and heartbreak within families who lose loved-ones.”

Truth Wins Out is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that works to advance liberty and democracy, protect the rights of LGBTQ people and other minorities, combat religious extremism, and fight against the spread of disinformation.