Support for NPR and the following message comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

RWJF is a national philanthropy working toward a future where health is no longer a privilege but a right.

Learn more at RWJF.org.

Hey there, it's the NPR Politics Podcast.

I'm Deepa Shiveram. I cover the White House.

And today on the show, we want to highlight some reporting from our friends at The Indicator from Planet Money.

We've talked a lot on this podcast about Doge, the entity that has reshaped the federal government.

One of its targets was USAID, an agency that gave foreign aid and assistance.

PEPFAR is one of USAID's programs, and cuts to the program stand to have a massive impact on global

health. Darien Woods picks it up after this break.

Support for NPR and the following message comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

RWJF is a national philanthropy working toward a future where health is no longer a privilege

but a right. Learn more at RWJF.org.

In rich countries like the U.S., we spend millions of dollars to save a life.

People with health insurance enjoy befuddlingly expensive surgeries and medication regimens.

Governments shell out for highway improvements to reduce crashes.

But there's a program that has been saving millions of lives for a fraction of that cost, just $4,600 to save a human

life. That program is called PEPFAR, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Ladies and gentlemen, George W. Bush started it in 2003.

Seldom has history offered a greater opportunity to do so much for so many.

At this state of the union, President Bush asked Congress to commit $3 billion a year to fight AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean.

It's now given an estimated 26 million people another chance at life by preventing

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