US funding cut puts South Africa’s HIV/AIDS fight in jeopardy. Image: MSN
(The Post News)- South Africa’s Health Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi responded to Trump cutting aid for HIV, TB, and malaria treatments globally. Trump expressed frustration with funding countries that do not support them.South Africa receives about R8.5 billion from the U.S. for health initiatives. This includes those helping the battle against HIV/AIDS.
Motsoaledi said in a media briefing that the world is baffled by Trump’s decision to stop USAID funding. He says that they have been fighting the scourge of HIV and malaria together for over 20 years as a global community and depend heavily on global funding. He says that South Africa is running the world’s biggest HIV counseling and testing campaigns.
According to Motsoaledi, 5.5 million people are on ARVs and no other country comes close to this. He further explains that the total amount spent on this campaign is R44.4 million. Motsoaledi stressed that Pepfar contributes 17% of all of this. Moreover, South Africa buys ARVs from its budget, with 10% coming from the Global Fund.
Motsoaledi has moved to allay fears after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order enacting a 90-day pause on foreign assistance as Trump settles in office. The three months of review affect USAID, which has been critical to South Africa’s fight against HIV/AIDS.
USAID’s $22.6 billion budget supports many global initiatives, including disaster relief, refugee aid, and poverty reduction programs. However, the halting of the aid spares humanitarian assistance. Additionally, it includes food, life-saving medicine, and military assistance to Israel and Egypt.
Although USAID has been an integral stakeholder in the country, Minister Motsoaledi says they will engage the Treasury to discuss a way forward. Only programs in 27 districts funded by PEPFAR will be affected, according to the minister.
He notes that they are still evaluating the situation’s overall effects and gathering data to understand the challenge’s scope. Motsoaledi emphasizes that the government was not informed about the PEPFAR’s funding decision related to global healthcare.
For now, Motsoaledi urges South Africans living with HIV to not stop taking their ARVs as they seek to resolve the matter.
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