US EditionSouth Africa: Treasury Hands HIV Response a Lifeline, but It's Probably Too Little
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, JUL 10 – UNAIDS warns that US funding cuts risk reversing decades of HIV progress in Sub-Saharan Africa, potentially causing 6 million new infections and 4 million AIDS-related deaths by 2030.
- South Africa's National Treasury announced it will release R753-million to help cover the shortfall caused by the US PEPFAR funding withdrawal earlier this year.
- This funding gap appeared after the United States government shifted foreign assistance strategies, drastically cutting aid to HIV programs like PEPFAR in early 2025.
- The funding cuts led to clinic closures, healthcare worker retrenchments, and disrupted treatment access, severely impacting vulnerable groups including sex workers and adolescent girls.
- UNAIDS warned that without urgent intervention, these cuts could unravel progress, risking millions of new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths while calling the crisis a 'ticking time bomb.'
- Although South Africa and donors pledged further support, the financial injection only partially offsets the losses, underscoring an urgent need for sustainable, inclusive HIV responses and global solidarity.
24 Articles
24 Articles
Duke HIV vaccine scientist searches for new funding after federal cuts
Duke researcher Dr. Barton Haynes is seeking new funding after the Trump administration abruptly ended a $258 million NIH grant supporting HIV vaccine development. The Durham-based CHAVD program was nearing clinical trials. Haynes says the cuts are politically motivated and hopes to secure private backing to continue the work.
South Africans Fear HIV Spike As US Aid Is Slashed
What happens when life-saving medication becomes a luxury overnight?Gugu, a 54-year-old former sex worker living with HIV, knows the answer. Until recently, she collected her antiretrovirals from a USAID-funded clinic in Johannesburg. But after US President Donald Trump slashed foreign aid, that clinic—and many like it—shut down.“I was lucky. They gave me nine months of meds before closing,” she says. But come September, she’ll be forced to tur…
HIV/AIDS Funding Crisis Risks Reversing Decades of Progress
About 9.2 million people across the world living with HIV were not receiving treatment in 2024, according to the UNAIDS report. At the launch of the report were Rev. Mbulelo Dyasi, Executive Director of SANARELA. Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director, Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister of Health of South Africa. Juwan Betty Wani, Programme Coordinator, Adolescents Girls and young women Network South Sudan. Helen Rees, Executive Director, Wits RHI. …
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