Johannesburg: The decision by US President Donald Trump’s administration to halt foreign aid has threatened treatment for HIV patients in South Africa. Nozuko Majola (19), who lives in a rural area in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, is one of millions of patients affected by President Trump’s global foreign aid freeze. This is expected to disrupt treatment for HIV patients, increase infection rates and increase the number of deaths.
Things are terrible here
The Human Sciences Research Council reported in 2024 that Majola province has the second highest prevalence of HIV in South Africa, where about 1,300 young people are infected with the infection every week. In KwaZulu-Natal, about 19.8 lakh people were infected with HIV in 2022. More than 75 lakh people in the country are infected with the virus that causes AIDS and this number is more than any other country.
crisis on treatment of patients
Donald Trump’s suspension of the President’s Emergency AIDS Relief Plan, which provided $400 million annually to South Africa’s HIV programs and several NGOs, has put the country’s 5.5 million patients at risk of being treated.
Millions of people have saved their lives
According to a UN agency, the emergency AIDS relief scheme is credited with saving at least 26 million lives globally since its inception in 2003. A US federal judge recently ordered the Trump administration to temporarily lift the blockade on aid, while the US embassy said the schemes would resume with limited exemptions.
