‘People will die,’ says Canadian charity in Kenya as Trump’s USAID cuts threaten HIV medications – CBC

Kenya has one of the highest rates of HIV in the world with a prevalence of 3.7 per cent

Mar 04, 2025

In Nanyuki, a market town just northwest of Mount Kenya, some foreign aid workers and volunteers are worried what U.S. President Donald Trump’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development will mean for the people there.

“It’s a concern. It’s a real issue,” said Rex Taylor, co-founder and president of The Small Project, a registered Canadian charity that helps send kids to school in rural Kenya.

“In my judgment, it will mean people will die unnecessarily,” he told CBC News while on an annual visit to Nanyuki.

Kenya has one of the highest rates of HIV in the world, ranking 11th with a prevalence of 3.7 per cent in 2022, according to the World Health Organization. About 1.4 million Kenyans are HIV-positive, according to the non-profit Be in the Know. Amfar, the Foundation for AIDS Research, notes that about 1.3 million people are on HIV/AIDS treatment in the country.

‘People will die,’ says Canadian charity in Kenya as Trump’s USAID cuts threaten HIV medications – CBC

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