(3 Minutes Read)
South Africa has more people living with HIV than any other country in the world. When US President Donald Trump slashed America’s foreign aid budget, the impact was immediate, as free clinics closed their doors, leaving patients without medication.
The South African government said that the HIV program undertaken with the support of the US, involving USD 427 million, would continue. It is tapping new sources of funding to undertake such activities. South Africa is struggling to fill the gap, and experts are warning that the next few years could see hundreds of thousands of new infections. South Africa has more people living with HIV than any other country in the world. When US President Donald Trump slashed America’s foreign aid budget, the impact was immediate, as free clinics closed their doors, leaving patients without medication.
Patients say they’ve been turned away from public hospitals, even though authorities insist that shouldn’t be happening. Others say they’ve been forced to buy HIV medication on the black market, where pills have nearly doubled in price.
More than 63,000 people depended on the 12 clinics across the nation that shut down. Up to 220,000 people have faced disruption to their daily HIV medication. Even before the cuts, of the country’s estimated 8 million people living with HIV, only 2 million were on medication.
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The US has issued a limited waiver allowing some vital HIV services to resume, but the cuts in aid have created chaos. And for many of those affected, the damage is already done.
