Posted 30 minutes agoSubscribe to BuzzFeed Daily NewsletterCaret DownMadonna Blasted Trump For Refusing To Acknowledge World AIDS Day, Saying "It's Absurd, It's Unthinkable"The icon didn't hold back in criticizing the president for skipping a decades-long tradition.by Brian GalindoBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLinkHot Topic🔥 Full coverage and conversation on Politics For the first time since 1988, the US did not officially recognize World AIDS Day - which happens every Dec. 1 - breaking a decades-long tradition of raising awareness and honoring those affected by HIV/AIDS. The Trump administration has reportedly instructed federal agencies and grantees to avoid public statements or events connected to the day. Aaron Schwartz / Bloomberg via Getty Images Beyond symbolic silence, the administration has implemented funding cuts that threaten domestic prevention efforts and disrupt global initiatives, such as PEPFAR. Experts warn that reducing support for treatment, prevention, and research could reverse DECADES of progress in controlling HIV/AIDS. Advocates argue these moves disproportionately affect marginalized communities and undermine both national and international public health efforts. Picture Alliance / dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images It's important to know that, while there is no cure for the disease, there are antiretroviral therapies that can lower the viral load count in people living with HIV, essentially making them undetectable and unable to transmit it. These medications also give people living with HIV a normal life expectancy. There are also medications like PrEP and Truvada that help reduce the risk of people getting HIV. However, these drugs can be prohibitively expensive and also not available to people in countries that really need them, without countries like the US stepping up to fund them. Yesterday, to commemorate World AIDS Day, Madonna made a post on her Instagram, not only honoring those who have been affected by the disease, but also dragging Trump for not acknowledging the day and his indifference to those who have been touched by HIV/AIDS. View this photo on Instagram @Madonna / Via Instagram: @undefined She started off the post by acknowledging the devastating effect HIV/AIDS has had on people around the world, saying, "Today is World AIDS Day. For four decades, this day has been internationally recognized around the world by people from all walks of life, because millions of people's lives have been touched by the HIV crisis. People have lost lovers and husbands and wives and girlfriends and boyfriends and mothers and daughters and children to this deadly disease, of which there is still no cure." Kevin Mazur / WireImage for Live Nation / Getty Images BuzzFeed TrendingHot TopicLet's chat about all things PoliticsSee our Politics Discussions Madonna then called out Trump specifically, for his orders not to acknowledge the day, saying, "Donald Trump has announced that World AIDS Day should no longer be acknowledged. It's one thing to order federal agents to refrain from commemorating this day, but to ask the general public to pretend it never happened is ridiculous, it's absurd, it's unthinkable. I bet he's never watched his best friend die of AIDS, held their hand, and watched the blood drain from their face as they took their last breath at the age of 23." Nicholas Hunt, Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images She then ended her statement by saying she will continue to honor World AIDS Day: "The list of people that I have known and loved and lost to AIDS is pretty long. I'm sure many of you out there can relate. Let me say it one more time- there still isn't a cure for AIDS, and people still die from it. I refuse to acknowledge that these people have died in vain. And I will continue to honor World AIDS Day, and I hope you will honor it with me. ❤️" Spencer Platt / Getty Images Madonna has been a longtime advocate for HIV/AIDS causes, having seen the effects of it firsthand when many of her gay friends, including Keith Haring, died from AIDS during the '80s and '90s. During her most recent tour, the Celebration tour, she even displayed photos of the many people who had died from it over the years while singing "Live to Tell." Buda Mendes / Getty Images