Asanda Zondi received an alarming call instructing her to head to a health clinic in Vulindlela, South Africa, where she had been part of a testing study for a new medical device aimed at preventing pregnancy and HIV infection. Arriving at the clinic, she learned the U.S. Agency for International Development (U.S.A.I.D.) had just withdrawn funding, leading to an immediate shutdown of the trial. The sudden cessation was mandated by an executive order from President Trump, imposing a 90-day freeze on foreign aid that affected numerous global studies.
Ms. Zondi's trial is among many abruptly halted, leaving individuals with experimental drugs and medical devices within their bodies, isolated from ongoing care. Concerns are growing about the potential for adverse effects as participants are left without monitoring or support. The State Department, which now oversees U.S.A.I.D., has remained tight-lipped, redirecting inquiries to a mostly inactive website. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has criticized U.S.A.I.D. as ineffective, attributing its operations to a liberal agenda contrary to Trump's foreign policy stance.
Interviews with scientists involved in these studies reveal moral dilemmas as they grapple with the choice of continuing care for participants at the risk of defying orders or abandoning them amidst uncertainty. The aggrieved researchers are constrained by the restriction against discussing the shutdown, heightening fears surrounding the implications of their abrupt withdrawal from these critical trials.
