Trump announced on Wednesday, June 25 that he is phasing out a federal program supporting HIV and AIDS treatment and prevention in South Africa. According to the announcement, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will be phased out by September.
Approximately eight million people, or 12.7% of the South African population, has HIV, according to World Health Organization data, which is the most of any country in the world.
The PEPFAR program has been credited with saving more than 25 million lives, providing treatment to 20 million people in a given year, and preventing millions of HIV infections over the last 20 years.
PEPFAR has provided a wide variety of services including highly effective preventative treatment and treatment for those with HIV that increases life expectancy to near-normal levels and helps to suppress the virus and reduce the likelihood of spread.
Experts say the shutdown could lead to 500,000 deaths over the next 10 years in South Africa. Many clinics will likely shut down. Patients will lose access to treatment and medications and workers will lose their jobs. Many people using this program have nowhere else to go to get treatment. Many may go without it or even be forced to buy their medication for high prices on the black market.
So, why cancel the program? The Trump administration claimed PEPFAR had failed “to make demonstrable progress on policy requests by the administration.” The Trump administration says it wants foreign assistance to directly serve “America’s” interests. The Trump administration has requested policy agreements like exempting American companies from Black empowerment laws and for South Africa to not align with U.S. adversaries like Iran.
This administration views human life as expendable for its own interests, especially for people and groups that have been completely left behind and taken advantage of by our global system.
No one should be denied life-saving medication and no population should be left to deal with this horrible disease without resources. We must oppose cuts to healthcare everywhere, especially for the most vulnerable, and we must stand in solidarity with those in South Africa.
