Doubts over US Aids relief for SA
MULTIBILLION-RAND funding to South Africa from the United States government’s flagship HIV/Aids programme hangs in the balance as Washington prepares to usher in a new administration.
SA has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the US President’s Emergency Plan For Aids Relief (Pepfar) programme, through which successive US administrations have pumped $5-billion (R68-billion) into the country since 2004, when the pandemic was at its height.
An estimated 3.6 million South Africans are on antiretroviral treatment.
US embassy spokeswoman Cynthia Harvey on Monday said: “In 2016, Pepfar contributed $410-million [R5.5-billion] towards combating HIV/Aids and tuberculosis (TB) in SA”.
Since 2004, the US has committed more than $5-billion through Pepfar to South African health programmes.
Last year, the US started the Dreams (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, Aidsfree, Mentored and Safe women) programme in SA.
The programme is a two-year, $66-million (R8.9-billion) commitment that focuses on alleviating the social drivers that contribute to more than 2 000 new infections a week among girls and young women in the country.
“We expect the next administration will inherit key initiatives from the Democratic Obama administration, too, such as Young African Leaders Initiative and Power Africa,” Harvey said.
“So, while we do not yet know what president-elect Donald Trump’s foreign policy priorities will be, we feel optimistic that these important initiatives, including Pepfar, will continue to receive support,” Harvey said. Department of Health deputy director, Yogan Pillay, said not all donor funds flowed into state coffers, but that they also help to bankroll local nongovernmental organisations.
Government spending on HIV/Aids programmes has tripled since 2007-08. It is expected to average R913-million over the medium-term, according to projections in the national expenditure framework for 2010-16. — BDLive