US to phase out $400 million in South Africa HIV funding

The United States will begin a phased drawdown of funding for South African HIV and Aids programs, ending support that had run at about $400 million a year through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. The White House tied the move to what it called South Africa’s failure to meet Trump administration policy requests tied to alleged discrimination against Afrikaners, a claim Pretoria rejects. South Africa’s health ministry said it had not been formally notified, but said it had been preparing a self-reliance plan. The ministry added that life-saving antiretroviral medicines are funded separately, mainly by the government.