South Africa welcomes $115M US bridge plan to sustain its HIV programs for 6 months

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa on Thursday welcomed a U.S. bridging plan worth $115 million that would continue funding HIV treatment and prevention programs until the end of March, saying it was a sign of good bilateral relations despite recent tensions.

The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, has been credited with saving more than 25 million lives over two decades of people with HIV, the vast majority in Africa. South Africa has the highest number in the world of people living with HIV.

In January, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order suspending all foreign aid for South Africa, including PEPFAR.

While a temporary waiver was initially granted for the 90-day suspension, the US began terminating grants in late February 2025, and most funding remained frozen or stopped, leading to job losses and service disruptions.

The U.S. previously contributed more than $400 million a year to South Africa’s HIV programs and nongovernmental organizations, or about 17% of the total funding according to the health department.

As a result of the funding freeze, more than 8,000 health workers were laid off and the 12 specialized HIV clinics were closed that were run by nongovernmental organizations and funded by the now-shuttered United States Agency for International Development, USAID.

South African Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told reporters on Thursday that the cabinet welcomed the approval of the PEPFAR Bridge Plan by the U.S.

She said the minimal warning period for countries to prepare their budgets was one of the primary complaints voiced when President Trump stopped PEPFAR funding, and the “bridge plan” sought to address that.

“It’s a confirmation of the good bilateral relations between South Africa and the U.S. so that when we have complaints, they intervene and we find an amicable solution to the problem,” Ntshavheni added.

Although the minister struck a positive tone, relations between the two countries have been strained. Trump accused the Black-majority government of presiding over a genocide against minority white Afrikaners, even fast-tracking refugee applications for Afrikaners to resettle in the U.S.

Along with suspending financial aid and imposing 30% tariffs on South Africa’s exports to the U.S., Trump has denounced the country’s stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict. In 2023, South Africa filed a case with the ICJ, accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was expelled by the U.S. for his criticism of Trump, who has hinted that he may not attend the G20 summit of world leaders scheduled to take place in Johannesburg in November.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said at a national roundtable discussion earlier this week that he was informed during a recent visit by an American delegation that Washington was “changing its approach to PEPFAR” and was granting countries varying transition periods for funding, up to five years in some cases, before PEPFAR was halted altogether.

“That plan is still being hatched and it is not ready,” he said. “We ought to be happy about this because it could have been worse.”

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