UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima has urged the United States to reconsider its decision to phase down HIV/AIDS funding for South Africa, warning that the move could cost lives in the country with the world’s largest HIV burden. Speaking ahead of the UN High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS in New York, Byanyima said withdrawing support from vulnerable patients would threaten hard-won progress in the fight against the virus, at a time when global HIV programs are already under pressure from wider aid cuts.
The US State Department has confirmed that it will begin a “phased drawdown” of PEPFAR support in South Africa, arguing that the program was never meant to be permanent and that South Africa, as a middle-income country, can fund its own health response. The move is reportedly linked to Washington’s dissatisfaction with Pretoria’s stance on several policy issues, including ties with Iran and domestic empowerment policies, although these reasons have drawn criticism because they are unrelated to public health. PEPFAR has provided South Africa with more than $400 million annually and has helped fund roughly 15,000 health workers, while contributing up to 17 percent of the country’s HIV financing.
South Africa has about eight million people living with HIV, making it the epicentre of the global epidemic. Byanyima warned that the funding cut comes at a dangerous moment, as nine million people globally still lack treatment and new infections remain high. UNAIDS data already shows a 22 percent drop in HIV testing in some high-burden countries and sharp declines in prevention tools such as condoms and PrEP due to donor funding cuts. She said removing support without a managed transition risks reversing decades of gains and could derail the global target of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
