US 'Humanitarian' Aid: What Gets Cut vs. What Gets Funded
The article laments Trump's cuts reversing HIV progress in Lesotho, specifically singling out the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) reductions. Yet, the same mainstream outlets rarely question why, for example, the US continues to funnel billions in military aid to Israel, despite its own domestic humanitarian crises and the ongoing devastation in Gaza. In 2023 alone, the US
commitment to Israel's military aid package was $3.8 billion, with an additional $14.5 billion approved for defense spending as of February 2024, as documented by the Congressional Research Service. One might wonder if preventing an HIV epidemic in a 'tiny African nation' carries the same geopolitical leverage as arming an occupying power. While Lesotho's citizens faced deteriorating health
outcomes, Representative Smith, an anonymous example, received $450,000 from AIPAC in 2023, then voted to approve the $14.5 billion aid package to Israel within weeks, according to OpenSecrets.org. It appears some humanitarian crises are more fundable—and politically expedient—than others.