Funding cuts by the US to South Africa's HIV/AIDS programs threaten up to 500,000 lives over the next decade, warns Linda-Gail Bekker of the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation. These cuts, part of broader USAID termination letters, will hinder efforts made by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which significantly finances South Africa's HIV initiatives. With over 7.8 million people living with HIV, the termination of grants undermines ongoing treatment efforts. Activists have called for immediate solutions to secure alternative funding and to prevent potential fatalities and new infections in the coming years.
"We will see lives lost," said Bekker after South African groups were notified that they would lose their USAID grants. "In excess of half a million unnecessary deaths will occur because of the loss of the funding and up to a half a million new infections."
The notices from the US State Department stated the grants were not in line with US priorities and were terminated for convenience and the interest of the US government.
Activists stressed an urgent need to find alternative ways to fund the HIV/AIDS programs. "We cannot afford delays right now. We need top-tier prioritization," said Lynne Wilkinson.
PEPFAR, initiated in 2003, is crucial for funding South Africa's HIV programs, providing about 17% of the country's HIV budget, supporting 5.5 million people on treatment.
Collection
[
|
...
]