By Doreen Mokgolo
- The withdrawal of American funds affected only 27 districts and 12 specialised clinics, the minister said.
- Over 8,000 workers lost jobs but patients were moved to nearby government facilities for treatment.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says the end of American funding will not cause South Africa’s HIV and TB programmes to collapse.
He was speaking at a press briefing in Tshwane on Wednesday, after criticism from activists that he is not doing enough to fix the crisis.
The US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) pulled out its funding after Donald Trump became president.
This decision affected 27 of the country’s 52 districts — mainly in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Gauteng, North West, Mpumalanga, Free State, Limpopo and the Northern Cape.
Motsoaledi said only 12 specialised HIV clinics were fully run by non-government groups using PEPFAR funds. These clinics treated 6,322 people, including transgender people, sex workers and people who inject drugs.
When the funding stopped, he said, all patients were moved to the nearest public clinics for treatment.
Motsoaledi said it’s wrong to say the whole system is failing because of the funding cut. Government spends R6.8-billion on HIV programmes each year, while the US funding was R7.9-billion.
“We will not allow work built over many years to collapse because of this funding cut,” he said.
He also said the Global Fund has stepped in to help, offering R1-billion for antiretroviral treatment.
But he admitted they’ve asked other groups for support, with no luck so far.
“We only received a positive response from the Global Fund,” he said.
According to UNAIDS, 39.9 million people worldwide are living with HIV, with 5.9 million currently on treatment.
Pictured above: Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.
Image source: GCIS
