SA secures R2bn funding from US to sustain HIV and Aids programmes

South Africa will receive R2bn over six months from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to sustain existing HIV and Aids programmes.

The announcement was made by health minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Tuesday during the national roundtable on Lenacapavir access and sustainability in South Africa in Kempton Park.

Motsoaledi said the news came “all the way from Washington”, adding the US had decided to reconsider the recent funding cuts through a new mechanism referred to as a “transitional period”.

“This is to keep the programmes that were there so that they don’t collapse. The US said they are giving a new review to the funding cuts after a new course called a transitional period,” he said.

The transitional arrangement comes after funding cuts implemented under US President Donald Trump’s administration, which threatened critical HIV and Aids programmes supported by the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar). These include treatment, testing and prevention services that particularly benefit marginalised communities.

Motsoaledi said the transitional period will vary by country, ranging from one to five years. “Some countries will get one year, others three and some five years. However, they mentioned they don’t think South Africa will get five years. So we are waiting to be told what our transition will be.”

The rollout must extend beyond facility-based service provision and include community-level, key population-led groups, PrEP outreach services, HIV rapid testing and mobile clinic initiation

—  Gonondo Sheila Khama, on behalf of civil society organisations

Katlego Rasebitse from the South African National Aids Council (Sanac) Civil Society Forum sex workers’ sector welcomed the announcement, describing it as “good news” for key populations, including sex workers, men who have sex with men, and the LGBTQI+ community.

“After the funding cuts by Trump, we tried to integrate our services into government hospitals but were told there was no budget. Some nurses said the key populations were never included when the government planned its budget for public clinics, as they had their own Pepfar-funded facilities,” he said.

Stigma and discrimination at some public facilities had further alienated members of the community, he added

“I remember one of our members complained about being called names at the clinic. The nurse told her that omarhosha [prostitutes] were coming to government clinics to outnumber their resources.”

According to data by Ritshidze, oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is still not routinely offered to key populations. Meanwhile, findings from the community-led monitoring project indicate that poor treatment by some clinic staff continues to deter people from using the public health-care system.

Gonondo Sheila Khama, speaking on behalf of civil society organisations, said the rollout of Lenacapavir, a long-acting injectable antiretroviral drug administered twice a year, must be inclusive.

“The rollout must extend beyond facility-based service provision and include community-level, key population-led groups, PrEP outreach services, HIV rapid testing and mobile clinic initiation,” she said.

TimesLIVE