Department of Health To Provide HIV Patients With ARVs for 6 Months After Donald Trump Cut Aid
- The Department of Health announced that it plans on giving HIV patients Antiretrovirals for six months, reducing the number of visits to the clinic
- The contingency is part of the department’s steps to ease the impact of US President Donald Trump's decision to halt HIV/AIDS funding to South Africa
- Netizens praised the government and called on it to prioritize South Africans in distributing the ARVs
Tebogo Mokwena, a dedicated Briefly News current affairs journalist, contributed coverage of international and local social issues like health, corruption, education, unemployment, labour, service delivery protests and immigration in South Africa during his seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.
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JOHANNESBURG– The Department of Health is planning on cutting HIV patients’ hospital visits to twice a year by giving them Antiretrovirals (ARVs) for six months. This came after United States President Donald Trump announced that he would cut HIV/AIDS funding to South Africa.
ARVs twice a year: Department
According to SABC News, the Department of Health is working on a contingency plan to mitigate the impact of Trump's order to cut funding for South Africa's HIV programmes. Trump cut the funding, accusing the South African government of committing human rights violations after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Act into law.
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Centres which depended on funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have shut down. This is despite the United States Constitutional Court freezing Trump's order to block funding to South Africa.
Trump's soured relations with SA
Trump's decision to cut aid to South Africa came after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Act into law. Trump accused the government of using the law to seize farmland belonging to Afrikaners. Trump's stance can be traced to 2018 when he tweeted that he asked his former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, to investigate alleged large-scale farm killings and land seizures.
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What you need to know about Trump's order
- Trump rescinded the order and temporarily permitted his administration to provide funding to South Africa
- However, he signed an Executive Order reinstating his ban and extending refugee status to Afrikaners, accusing the South African government of persecuting them
- Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said representatives from the US government wanted to meet him shortly after Trump announced that he would cut funding
South Africans weigh in
Netizens commenting on SABC News’s Facebook page called on the government to prioritize South Africans in its contingency plan.
Msojaer Mulaudzi said:
“And it must be given to South Africans.”
Finish Peace said:
“The remaining must be for South Africans.”
Philip Sibanda said:
“This is a serious matter for all African countries not to depend on one country.”
Songi MakaSiba Joseph said:
“Put South Africans first.”
Thabisile Simosemvelo Mabaso-Mlilo said:
“This will push the government to create a cure.”
SA purchases 90% of ARVs: Aaron Motsoaledi
In a related article, Briefly News reported that Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi clarified that the government procures 90% of its ARV treatment. He added that the remaining 10% is sourced from global funding.
Motsoedi spoke during a Cabinet Lekgotla briefing on 30 January 2025 and clarified that the government only receives a small portion of funding from the US. He said that the US’s funding supplied 27 out of the 52 districts of the country.
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Source: Briefly News
