SA will receive R2bn over six months from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to sustain existing HIV and Aids programmes.
The announcement was made by health minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Tuesday during a national round-table in Kempton Park on SA’s access to and sustainability of lenacapavir, the twice-yearly HIV prevention injection.
Motsoaledi said the news came “all the way from Washington”, adding the US had decided to reconsider the recent funding cuts through a new mechanism referred to as a “transitional period”.
“This is to keep the programmes that were there so that they don’t collapse. The US said they are giving a new review to the funding cuts after a new course called a transitional period,” he said.
The transitional arrangement comes after funding cuts implemented under the Trump administration threatened critical HIV and Aids programmes supported by the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar). These included treatment, testing and prevention services that particularly benefit marginalised communities.
Motsoaledi said the transitional period will vary by country, ranging from one to five years. “Some countries will get one year, others three and some five years. However, they mentioned they don’t think SA will get five years. So we are waiting to be told what our transition will be.”
Gonondo Sheila Khama, speaking on behalf of civil society organisations, said the rollout of lenacapavir must be inclusive. “The rollout must extend beyond facility-based service provision and include community-level, key population-led groups, PrEP [pre-exposure prophylaxis] outreach services, HIV rapid testing and mobile clinic initiation,” she said.
TimesLIVE
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