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Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi speaks at a government function.
Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi says contrary to media and health experts’ reports, South Africa’s HIV-AIDS programme is not on the verge of collapse.
Motsoaledi’s statement comes after the US government’s withdrawal of funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
According to Statistics SA, South Africa has the highest number of people living with HIV in Africa, with almost 8 million people infected with the virus.
Motsoaledi says South Africa spends R46,8 billion on its HIV/AIDS programme.
He told the media in Pretoria that about 5% of the amount was from PEPFAR.
“It is inconceivable that out of the R46.8 billion spent by the country on the HIV/AIDS programme, the withdrawal of R7.9 billion by [US] President [Donald] Trump will immediately lead to a collapse of the entire programme.”
“We believe it is inconceivable. Ladies and gentlemen, we must put it categorically to you that under no circumstances will we allow this massive work performed over a period of more than a decade and a half, to collapse and go up … because President Trump had decided to do what he has done,” explains Motsoaledi.
