This move, enacted through an executive order by President Donald Trump, has effectively shut down US Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded HIV organisations in the country.
The decision comes just weeks after Trump halted broader foreign aid to SA in response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s signing of the Expropriation Act, legislation aimed at addressing the country’s historical land inequalities stemming from apartheid.
The sweeping funding cut, part of a larger move affecting global health programmes, has far-reaching consequences.
According to Mark Heywood, SA Human Rights and Social Justice Activist and Co-Founder of the Treatment Action Campaign, the impact is both immediate and catastrophic.
Speaking on Channel Africa, Heywood stated, “The Trump administration has cancelled 5 800 contracts and continued only 500. This is a disastrous, cruel decision that will have severe global implications.” He warned that the termination of funding could result in up to 500 000 additional deaths in SA alone.
The cuts have already forced clinics to close, healthcare workers to be laid off, and essential medical supplies to be depleted. Similar scenarios are unfolding across Africa, with Kenya, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe experiencing mass retrenchments of healthcare workers.
Beyond the immediate health crisis, experts are raising alarms over the ethical and human rights implications of the decision. HIV/AIDS programmes funded by USAID and PEPFAR (the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) have been instrumental in reducing new infections and ensuring life-saving treatment reaches vulnerable populations, including sex workers, LGBTQ+ individuals, and at-risk youth. The abrupt cessation of support threatens to reverse decades of progress in combatting the epidemic.
SA health officials have expressed frustration over the lack of formal communication regarding the cuts. Foster Mohale, Spokesperson for the National Health Department, confirmed that the government only learned of the decision through media reports and affected NGOs.
“We are deeply concerned. This decision came unexpectedly, and we are working to mitigate the impact,” he said.
--ChannelAfrica--
