The United States decision to withdraw all HIV and Aids funding from South Africa is likely to cost lives, the head of the UN's HIV agency has warned. UNAids chief Winnie Byanyima urged Washington to reconsider, stating that cutting financial support directly endangers vulnerable populations.
UNAids Chief Pleads for Planned Transition
"Please do not take money away because you are taking lives away," Byanyima told reporters ahead of a UN meeting on the virus. She asked the US to consider a "planned transition" rather than an abrupt halt. South Africa does not rely on US funding for HIV drugs, but the US made a significant contribution to programmes preventing the virus's spread.
US Cites Afrikaner Protection as Reason
US officials told the BBC that the funding cut was partly a response to South Africa's alleged failure to protect the white-minority Afrikaner community—an accusation Pretoria rejects. South Africa's health ministry responded that it had not been informed of this decision but had "long been working on a self-reliance plan."
Pepfar's Role and Financial Impact
Until 2025, the US supported South Africa's HIV efforts with an estimated $400 million (£300 million) annually through the President's Emergency Fund for Aids Relief (Pepfar). Byanyima noted that Pepfar provided around 17% of South Africa's HIV response funding. "Taking it away is taking life-saving support from the most vulnerable people," she said.
Risk of Reversing Progress
During her Monday press briefing, Byanyima warned that the cuts risk reversing all progress made in HIV response. South Africa has over eight million people living with HIV—more than any other country. "I call on member states to protect the rights of people living with HIV," she said, emphasizing that financing cuts are not from one country alone.
Deteriorating US-South Africa Relations
Relations have soured since President Donald Trump's inauguration. Trump issued an executive order alleging South African policies dismantle equal opportunities and fuel violence "against racially disfavoured landowners." The South African government disputes this, stating its Black Economic Empowerment policy is needed to correct apartheid-era inequality. Trump also alleged a "white genocide" in South Africa, a claim widely discredited.
