UNAIDS Chief Warns That U.S. Funding Cut to South Africa’s HIV Program May Endanger Lives

The United States’ decision to cut all HIV and AIDS funding to South Africa could endanger lives, warned the head of the UN’s HIV agency.

“Please don’t withdraw funding — doing so takes lives away,” said Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS chief, speaking to reporters before a UN meeting on the virus, urging Washington to pursue a planned transition.

While South Africa does not depend on U.S. funding for its HIV medicines, the United States has been a major contributor to the nation’s virus‑prevention programs.

U.S. officials told the BBC that the cut was partly motivated by claims that South Africa has failed to safeguard the white‑minority Afrikaner community — an allegation the Pretoria government denies.

South Africa’s health ministry replied that, although it had not been notified of the decision, it has long been developing a self‑reliance strategy.

Through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the United States had been providing South Africa with roughly $400 million (about £300 million) annually to combat HIV, a commitment slated to continue until 2025.

In a Monday press briefing, Byanyima warned that the funding cuts could erase the progress South Africa has achieved in its HIV response.

South Africa is home to over eight million people living with HIV — the highest number of any country worldwide.

“I urge member states to safeguard the rights of people living with HIV,” Byanyima said, noting that reductions in international HIV funding are not the result of a single nation’s decision.

She expressed sadness over the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw funds, adding: “The United States has long been the largest donor to global HIV efforts, and we hope it will continue its support.”

Byanyima noted that PEPFAR had accounted for roughly 17 percent of South Africa’s total HIV‑response financing.

“Removing this support deprives the most vulnerable of life‑saving assistance, which is regrettable; I urge the United States to reconsider its stance.”

Relations between the United States and South Africa have deteriorated since President Donald Trump took office.

Soon after assuming office, Trump issued an executive order claiming that “numerous” South African policies undermine equal opportunities and incite violence “against racially disfavored landowners.”

The South African government disputes this claim, arguing that its Black Economic Empowerment policy is essential to address economic inequalities rooted in the apartheid era.

Trump has also asserted that a “white genocide” is occurring in South Africa — a claim that has been widely discredited.

Last week, the U.S. State Department confirmed that a phased drawdown of PEPFAR funding would begin, citing South Africa’s alleged failure to meet demonstrable progress on the administration’s policy requests.

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