Government waiting for full audit on PEPFAR funded programmes

CAPE TOWN - While Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has made more money available for health spending in the 2025 budget, no extra provision has been made to compensate for the United States' withdrawal from the country’s HIV/Aids and TB programmes.

Godongwana said that he's expecting a full audit of programmes funded through the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) PEPFAR, the US President Donald Trump's emergency plan for aids relief, by the end of March.

Health spending will grow by  R28.9 billion in the new financial year, but this is mainly to keep about 9,300 healthcare workers in their jobs.

Godongwana said that until a spending review is conducted on PEPFAR funded programmes, National Treasury can't plug the hole.

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The US funding withdrawal is worth almost R8 billion.

"We are working and we expect the audit firm will give us some indication at the end of the month. So it's difficult to pencil in a number for now."

Government buys 90 percent of its antiretrovirals while much of PEPFAR funding has been spent on programme administration.

"It's quite important to know that out of the 275,000 [working on HIV/AIDS programmes], only 15,000 are outside the government payment system."

Healthcare spending will increase from R227 billion in this financial year to R299 billion in 2025/26.
It will in part be used to employ 800 post-community service doctors and to keep pharmacies stocked.