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South Africa’s HIV Crisis Deepens amid Funding Cuts and Government Failures

Opinion

Business Honor- South Africa’s HIV Crisis Deepens Amid Funding Cuts, Policy Failures

Business Honor
19 June, 2025

Opinion by Yvette Raphael, Executive Director of Advocates for the Prevention of HIV and Aids (APHA), and Sibongile Tshabalala, National Chairperson of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC)

South Africa is fighting a critical situation against HIV, a growing crisis caused by external funding cuts and internal government failures. Despite government claims that the HIV situation is “under control,” the health professionals on the other side warn that this narrative is masking the reality.

The reduction of US funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has caused severe impacts on the country’s programs related to HIV. Testing rates have declined, healthcare workers have been fired, and many clinics, especially those serving for marginalized communities like sex workers, drug users, and transgender people, are struggling. As the tensions arise among the government officials—especially between the National Treasury and the Department of Health—this has slowed down the coordinated responses.

Aaron Motsoaledi, South Africa’s Minister of Health, has openly rejected criticism, accusing others of spreading misinformation. However, as Raphael and Tshabalala highlight, the experiences paint a strong, impactful picture reminiscent of the dark phase of AIDS denialism during the early 2000s under President Thabo Mbeki, when science was not taken seriously and people ended up losing their lives.

Looking at the near future, authors conclude that optimism and public relation efforts are not sufficient to address the current situation. They ask the president to take necessary action as soon as possible to convene a national health task team, including civil society, affected communities, researchers, and frontline workers. Without such efforts and transparent engagement, the collapse of the essential HIV services will continue, threatening to undo decades of progress.

At the height of this challenge, political courage and acknowledgment of the crisis are a bare minimum. Only with these does South Africa hope to not lose lives anymore and build a resilient, healthy future.