US to end funding of South Africa HIV programmes, citing 'Afrikaner persecution' claims
The Trump administration has announced it will end the $440m-a-year PEPFAR-funded HIV programmes in South Africa, citing what it calls 'persecution' of the country's Afrikaner minority. Pretoria rejected the framing and health organisations warned that treatment access for more than 700,000 people could be at risk.
The US State Department announced late Thursday that it is ending the $440m-a-year HIV prevention and treatment funding for South Africa under PEPFAR, the programme established under President George W. Bush. The justification cites the White House's months-long claim of 'persecution' of South Africa's Afrikaner minority. Pretoria called the allegations 'wholly unfounded' and said it has launched a diplomatic response.
Health organisations Médecins Sans Frontières and the Treatment Action Campaign warned that pulling the funding could directly affect more than 700,000 people currently receiving antiretroviral therapy. South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi told reporters that Pretoria has requested a 90-day window for a phased transition.
The move is widely seen as the sharpest bilateral crisis between Pretoria and Washington in recent years. The European Union, the United Kingdom and Norway have opened emergency-aid coordination talks to close the short-term gap. Decisive in coming weeks will be whether the PEPFAR cut faces a Congressional rollback vote.
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