Aid cuts in east Africa have led to cases of babies being born with HIV because mothers could not get medication, a rise in life-threatening infections, and at least one woman having an unwanted abortion, according to interviews with medical staff, patients and experts.

A report by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) sets out dozens of examples of the impact of disruption to Pepfar – the president’s emergency plan for aids relief – in Tanzania and Uganda.

Pepfar, a leading US global health programme, launched in 2003 and is credited with saving millions of lives, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa.

The report is based on interviews with 39 doctors, nurses, people living with HIV, service providers and other experts. It focuses on the first 100 days after Pepfar-funded programmes were instructed to stop work as part of a US government freeze on foreign aid.