Tuesday, 28 January 2025.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) notes the decision by the United States government, under new President Donald Trump, to halt foreign aid, including the suspension of funding for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This funding has played a significant role in supporting global efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, particularly in countries with high infection rates such as South Africa.

South Africa has the highest number of people living with HIV and leads with new infections in the world, with an estimated 7.8 million people affected. The country also runs the world’s largest HIV treatment programme, with approximately 5.9 million people receiving life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ARVs). Since 2004, PEPFAR has funded over 1,250 community-based organisations that provide essential HIV and TB services, including prevention, testing, and treatment. The withdrawal of this funding will have far-reaching consequences, potentially disrupting healthcare services and putting millions at risk of losing access to treatment that has significantly prolonged lives and reduced transmission rates.

However, while international assistance has supplemented South Africa’s healthcare initiatives, with more than 30 years in government, the ANC has allowed an overdependence on foreign aid, leaving the country vulnerable to decisions made by external powers. The consequences of this reliance are now evident, as the country faces a public health crisis that it is not financially prepared to handle on its own. This situation is exacerbated by budget cuts and austerity measures implemented by National Treasury, which have progressively weakened South Africa’s ability to fund its own healthcare system.

The health budget was cut by 4.9% for the 2023/24 financial year, and even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was reduced by 2.2%. While there was a slight 3.5% increase in the budget for 2024/25, it was still not enough to hire the number of necessary doctors and fill all vacancies within the health department, fully equip hospitals with adequate resources, and build and maintain infrastructure for clinics and hospitals. This deliberate strangling of public healthcare has forced our country to rely on foreign donors rather than building a self-sustaining system that can stand on its own.

Worse still, the crisis is compounded by the government’s failure to effectively manage and allocate funds that are available. Billions of rands meant for social programmes— including HIV/AIDS treatment—are returned unspent every year. In the 2022/23 fiscal year alone, the Gauteng health department underspent R1.6 billion of its district health services budget, while the Eastern Cape health department lost conditional grant funding due to similar inefficiencies. These failures have left our people vulnerable at a time when they need support the most.

This development is a painful reminder of the long and difficult battle that South Africans had to fight to have HIV/AIDS taken seriously. It was not long ago that the country suffered immense devastation due to the government’s inaction, denialism, and failure to intervene when the crisis was at its worst. Under the leadership of the ANC, thousands lost their lives because of reckless policies that ignored scientific evidence and delayed life-saving treatment.

It took relentless activism, civil society pressure, and a Constitutional Court ruling for the government to finally provide antiretroviral therapy and prevention measures at the scale needed. Since then, we have made undeniable progress—infection rates have decreased, testing has become widespread, and our ARV programme has become one of the most effective in the world, significantly reducing mortality rates.

We cannot and should not allow these gains to be reversed.

The EFF reiterates that healthcare is a fundamental human right, and the state must take full responsibility for ensuring that all South Africans have access to quality medical services. We reject the continued reliance on foreign aid and call for an urgent reversal of austerity measures that have crippled the public health sector. The government must immediately redirect resources to sustain Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) services broadly and specifically HIV/AIDS programmes, ensure that those on treatment do not lose access to their medication, and protect the gains made in the fight against the epidemic.

ISSUED BY THE ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS

Leigh-Ann Mathys (National Spokesperson) 082 304 7572

Thato Lebyane (Media Enquiries) 078 304 7572