Health Dept: US aid contributes about 17% to SA's HIV/AIDS campaign
Newly elected US head of state, Donald Trump, recently announced there will be a freeze to the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief - also known as PEPFAR.
FILE: Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi. Picture: GCIS.
JOHANNESBURG - The Department of Health said that aid from the United States of America contributed about 17% to the country's HIV/AIDS campaign.
Newly elected US head of state, Donald Trump, recently announced there would be a freeze to the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, also known as PEPFAR.
South Africa is one of the many developing countries around the world which receives aid through PEPFAR.
A number of the country's clinics have already started rolling back their operations in anticipation of the funding freeze.
Speaking at an African National Congress (ANC) media briefing on Tuesday afternoon, Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi said that his department had started collating data on the institutions that will be affected.
"We are running the world's biggest HIV counselling and testing campaign and at least 5.5 million people are on ARVs and no other country comes close to that. The total amount spent on this campaign is R44.4 billion and PEPFAR contributes 17%."