This episode was first published as a bonus episode for our Planet Money+ listeners. Today, we're making it available for everyone!

U.S. aid helped Eswatini and Lesotho, two small countries in southern Africa, in their efforts to treat and curb the spread of HIV. Will President Trump's "America First" foreign policy threaten years of progress there against the virus?

In this bonus episode, we're featuring an extended conversation between Darian Woods and Jon Cohen, senior correspondent with Science magazine. They talk about Jon's reporting trip to Eswatini and Lesotho in May and the early impacts he saw of the Trump administration's foreign aid cuts. We also hear about the critical role of PEPFAR (the U.S. President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief) in the global response to HIV/AIDS and some other things we couldn't fit into the original episode.

You can read Jon's recent article in Science magazine here.

To hear more bonus episodes like this, and get Planet Money and The Indicator without sponsor messages, support the show by signing up for Planet Money+.

This summer, we're also giving Planet Money+ supporters early access to new episodes. Another reason to join! Sign up via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy