A Dangerous Withdrawal: South Africa's HIV Crisis Amid US Aid Cuts
The withdrawal of US aid has disrupted life-saving HIV services in South Africa, affecting thousands. Clinics closed, forcing sex workers and others to struggle for medication. The government vows to sustain the program, but challenges remain as discrimination and high costs plague vulnerable communities.
- Country:
- South Africa
As night fell over Johannesburg, alarming news rapidly spread among sex workers: within a day, nonprofit clinics providing crucial HIV services would close due to President Donald Trump’s announcement of US foreign aid cuts.
While some at-risk South Africans managed to obtain vital drugs in time, many did not, leaving the country—where rates of HIV are among the highest globally—in a precarious situation. With 63,000 individuals previously receiving treatment from these now-shuttered clinics, disruption hit up to 220,000 people reliant on daily HIV medication.
Though the South African government has pledged to prevent the collapse of its expansive HIV program following the USD 427 million US funding withdrawal, sex workers face heightened risks. Anonymous sources, fearing community backlash, described increased difficulties securing HIV prevention or treatment.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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