The US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, PEPFAR, will reportedly be spared a $400m funding cut that formed part of President Donald Trump’s plan to slash billions in spending on foreign aid and public broadcasting, reported Daily Maverick (16 Jul 2025). However, local health experts say it’s too soon to predict how the decision will affect SA HIV programmes.PEPFAR funds about 17% of SA’s R44.4bn campaign for HIV counselling and testing.
“The executive orders, restrictions and programmatic cuts are still in force, and it does not mean that services will re-open, or that implementing partners with terminated grants will return to clinics
“The cuts follow objections from lawmakers in both the Republican and Democratic parties, bringing the size of the package to $9bn, according to a Reuters report.”
Foster Mohale, spokesperson for the National Department of Health, said the Department will continue with efforts for self-funding for health programmes for sustainability purposes.