Fear and worry in Lesotho: Photos show those affected as US aid cuts hit care for HIV patients

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MAPUTSOE, Lesotho (AP) — For the 2.3 million residents of Lesotho, the announcement of massive cuts to the U.S. aid that sustained much of the small African nation’s health care system came as a shock. The country long had one of the world’s highest HIV infection rates but recently made notable progress and hit key milestones in its fight against the epidemic.

Still, an estimated 260,000 HIV-positive people live in Lesotho. And as organizations and clinics that relied on foreign assistance shut down, many here lost access to life-saving treatment, to testing, to preventative medication, to other crucial services. These patients say this year has been filled with fear and uncertainty, and they worry as they look to the future, even as some programs have been temporarily reinstated.

Throughout Lesotho — known as the kingdom in the sky, as it’s the only country in the world where all its territory is more than 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) above sea level — health workers have been losing their jobs due to the funding cuts. Officials and residents say it’s another blow to their country, after U.S.-imposed tariffs forced factory closures months ago.

A team of Associated Press journalists traveled around Lesotho — from the urban capital of Maseru to isolated rural villages in the mountains and the lowlands — to photograph those affected by the U.S. aid cuts. Sitting at their homes, wearing their traditional Seanamarena blankets and their Mokorotlo straw hats, they posed for portraits and spoke of their fears and hopes in this new reality.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

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