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3w ago

South Africa Faces HIV Crisis as U.S. Aid Cuts Slash Testing and Jobs

Health Minister denies program collapse despite 8,000 job losses, plummeting testing rates, and projections of millions of new infections.

A nurse draws a blood sample from a child for an HIV test at a clinic in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg, South Africa, March 12, 2025. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo
Nozuko Majola sits in her Umzimkhulu home,, Nov. 11, 2025 in South Africa. Majola is one of millions of patients in South Africa affected by U.S. President Donald Trump's global foreign aid freeze, raising worries about HIV patients defaulting on treatment. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, file)

Overview

  • U.S. funding cuts under the Trump administration have reduced South Africa's HIV testing rates by up to 21% among pregnant women, young people, and infants, according to government data.
  • Over 8,000 health workers have lost their jobs after the U.S. halted PEPFAR funding, which previously supported 15,000 workers critical to HIV prevention and treatment efforts.
  • The Lancet projects between 4.4 million and 10.8 million additional HIV infections by 2030 in low- and middle-income countries unless funding is restored.
  • Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has acknowledged challenges but denied that South Africa's HIV program is collapsing, stating no replacement funding has yet been secured.
  • Activists disrupted a parliamentary session, demanding an emergency response as experts warn of worsening public health repercussions without immediate action.