PEPFAR withdrawal threatens to cripple SA's NGOs

JOHANNESBURG - South African NGOs, providing HIV care to vulnerable communities are worried about HIV infection rates.

It comes as US President Donald Trump announced that his government will be halting all President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief funding (PEPFAR).

PEPFAR has funded the distribution of HIV/AIDS treatment in South Africa and other countries for years.

This means patients will have limited access to their medication.

And some organisation fear this could lead to an uptick in HIV infection rates.  

READ: Health Dept: Plans set to ensure US funding withdrawal doesn’t erode gains in fighting HIV/AIDS

HIV/Aids clinics in various parts of the country have closed their doors since Trump announced a cut funding.  

The Ivan Toms Men's Health Centre in Green Point and the Wits Reproductive Institute in Johannesburg are among those affected.

Ling Sheperd from the Triangle project, said that if funding isn't reinstated, she fears the HIV infection rate will rise.

"If the PEPFAR funding remains restricted, we will see a resurgence of HIV-related illnesses and a loss of trust in a very, already precarious healthcare system."

She adds the effects of Trump's decisions are already being felt in South Africa and the future of HIV and AIDS funding remains uncertain.