Homosexual men in Africa are blaming President Trump for their AIDS diagnoses after he cut off access to free prophylactic drugs paid for by taxpayers.

Many in sub-Saharan Africa no longer have lost access to HIV medication since Trump gutted PEPFAR, a global AIDS prevention program established by President George W. Bush.

Gay Africans blame Trump

Early in his term, Trump issued a 90-day pause on all foreign aid and gutted USAID, the United States' foreign aid agency, which implements most of PEPFAR.

Trump issued a limited waiver allowing HIV prevention programs to restart for pregnant moms only, excluding some groups like prostitutes and homosexuals. The policy changes have caused whiplash among gay men in Africa, who had come to rely on free pills to support their high-risk lifestyle.

Emmanuel Cherem, 25, a gay man in Nigeria, told Reuters he tested positive for HIV two months after losing access to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, or PrEP, a daily pill that reduces HIV risk 99%.

"I blame myself... Taking care of myself is my first duty as a person," he said.

"I equally blame the Trump administration because, you know, these things were available, and then, without prior notice, these things were cut off."

Another gay Nigerian man, Echezona, said he's praying that Trump will have a change of heart.

"I just pray and wish that Trump actually changes his policy and everything comes back to normal so that the spread and transmission of the virus would be reduced."

Shifting burdens

Some Republicans have pushed back on proposed cuts to PEPFAR included in a $9.3 billion rescissions package, which passed the House this week.

Trump's critics have said the U.S. should continue to fund HIV prevention in poor countries where access to drugs is scarce. Linda-Gail Bekker, an HIV expert at the University of Cape Town, compared the AIDS epidemic in Africa to a bushfire.

"It's as predictable as if you take your eye off a smoldering bushfire and the wind is blowing: a bushfire will come back," she told Reuters.

Of course, not everyone thinks it makes sense to use taxpayer money to buy prophylactic drugs for strange men living in another continent.

The Trump administration maintains that it's time for Africa to start shouldering the burden.

The White House budget director, Russ Vought, hinted to Congress in June that the administration will curtail prevention programs, while maintaining life-saving treatments for people who have already developed AIDS.

“It is something that our budget will be very trim on,” Vought said, “because we believe that many of these nonprofits are not geared towards the viewpoints of the administration. And we’re $37 trillion in debt. So at some point, the continent of Africa needs to absorb more of the burden of providing this health care."