Permanent freeze of USAID grants in SA will have dire consequences in fight against HIV/AIDS – specialists
Organisations who receive funds through USAID were slapped with letters from the US State Department on Wednesday saying funding has been cancelled.
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JOHANNESBURG - Health specialists are warning that the permanent freeze of USAID grants in South Africa will have dire consequences in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
Organisations who receive funds through USAID were slapped with letters from the United States (US) State Department on Wednesday, saying that funding had been cancelled.
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South Africa is one of the recipients of the US’s HIV/AIDS response programme, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a project launched in 2003.
PEPFAR accounts for about 17% of South Africa's HIV budget, ensuring that at least 5.5 million people receive anti-retroviral treatment.
In January, US President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause on all foreign aid to conduct a review to ensure that all the projects aligned with his America First policy.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is the acting administrator for USAID, said the programme had been cancelled for good because it did not align with America's interests.
Health specialist, Lynn Wilkinson, noted the concern at the Change South Africa press conference on Thursday, where the impact of lack of funding was discussed.
"We have limited support for advanced HIV disease services. These are high-risk patients, including high-risk pregnant women, who are left without specialised care clinics.
"We risk a cessation of PrEP [Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis] services. This is for adolescent girls, young women, and pregnant women who will lose their critical HIV prevention tools."