The State Department issued a waiver for lifesaving aid, but HIV clinics remain shut and uncertainty lingers over the future of PEPFAR, which has saved 25 million lives.

Uganda sought to dispel fears among HIV patients that a US aid freeze will interrupt treatment and promised that such programs will continue.

As a result of the new administration's actions, health centers funded by PEPFAR, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, are closing their doors and no longer dispersing medication.