All the troubles of the world

We are still doing this? From the Wall Street Journal (WSJ),

Congo Braces for HIV Surge After U.S. Funding Stops.

Just so we are clear on which Congo, the article is about the Democratic Republic, the former Belgian colony, rather than the neighboring Republic of the Congo, a far more functional, former French colony.

The WSJ reports about the expected HIV surge,

For years, Congolese women relied on U.S.-supplied antiretrovirals such as post-exposure prophylaxis kits, to prevent infection after an assault. But the funds for those programs dried up after President Trump and his then-right-hand man, Elon Musk, cut funding for most of America’s foreign-assistance programs, including many anti-HIV initiatives.

So, it’s all Trump/Musk/America’s fault. There are some 200 other nations on Earth, give or take, besides the USA and the DR Congo. But not a single one, or any private-sector entity ( Bill Gates ), is able to step up and solve this problem. Only U.S. taxpayer dollars can do the work.

The WSJ,

Until this year, the U.S. had been Congo’s largest aid donor, providing more than $1 billion annually in assistance through charities providing medical care, food and other vital supplies to millions of vulnerable people.

Though a small nation (pop. 12 million), Belgium enjoys an annual per capita GDP of more than $75,000 per person, ranked 20th in the world. DR Congo has a per capita GDP of about $1,800, ranked 180th, above Eritrea but below Somalia.