SA's Health Dept urges PEPFAR, USAID beneficiaries to continue HIV treatment at nearest facilities
This comes after US president Donald Trump implemented a funding freeze to some African countries, pulling the plug on life-saving aid.
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JOHANNESBURG - The national Department of Health (DoH) is urging beneficiaries of the now-discontinued (the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) PEPFAR and USAID programmes to continue their HIV treatment at the nearest public healthcare facility.
People living with HIV were left stranded after the Donald Trump administration ended these support programmes.
PEPFAR and USAID played a key role in funding non-profit organisations to distribute HIV and TB treatment to all corners of the country.
National DoH spokesperson Foster Mohale said, “The department urges all people living with HIV who were receiving their life-saving HIV treatment from the sites and centres funded by US [United States] government through USAID and PEPFAR to continue their treatment journey at their nearest public health facilities
"In the meantime, South Africans are also urged to go for regular health screening and testing in order to know their health status, and prevention measures to protect themselves and their loved ones," added Mohale.
CAPETONIANS WEIGH IN ON DEFUNDING OF HIV/AIDS PROGRAMMES
Meanwhile, some Cape Town residents have weighed in on the defunding of HIV/Aids programmes by the United States, saying it’s a major setback.
The funding has been instrumental in the fight against the pandemic for over two decades.
These Capetonians said it’s a big blow.
“It has a big impact within us in South Africa because now we are facing the 90 days stand against all trans gender and HIV medication given at Wits and our various other clinics and we as the trans community within Cape Town within the other regions we are all fighting against the bill,” said one.
Another added, “It has set us back when it comes to medications, people have been accessing from NGO’s that have been providing free prep, counselling, visitations so that if people don't get medication, they're able to get visitors to be tracked by people who care for them.”