The United States government has announced that it will stop funding HIV and Aids programmes in South Africa, a move that could affect efforts to control the spread of the virus.
South Africa has more than eight million people living with HIV, the highest number of any country in the world.
The US State Department linked the decision to concerns over South Africa’s policies and alleged failure to protect the white-minority Afrikaner community. The South African government has rejected these claims.
South Africa’s health ministry said it had not been officially informed about the funding withdrawal but added that it had already been working on plans to become less dependent on foreign support.
Until 2025, the US provided about $400 million annually to South Africa’s HIV response through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Relations between Washington and Pretoria have worsened since President Donald Trump returned to office.
A US official said PEPFAR funding would now undergo a “phased drawdown,” claiming South Africa had not made enough progress on US policy requests. The official said the goal was to encourage South Africa to fund its own health programmes.
South Africa’s government said life-saving antiretroviral medicines are funded separately, with most support coming from the country’s own budget.
The decision comes amid wider tensions between the two countries, including disagreements over South Africa’s foreign policy and claims by Trump about the treatment of Afrikaners, which have been widely disputed.
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