{
  "id": 28213,
  "title": "Africa: 'What Is the Plan?' - Inside South Africa's Reckoning With a Post-PEPFAR World",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/07/30/africa-what-is-the-plan-inside-south-africas-reckoning-with-a-post",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-07-30T10:13:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "AllAfrica Health",
    "slug": "allafrica-health",
    "url": "https://allafrica.com/stories/202607300177.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "As the International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro concluded, a pressing question echoed through the halls: What is the plan for HIV treatment and prevention in Africa after the United States reduces its funding for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)?\n\nBelinda Tewela, a South African healthcare worker and HIV-positive individual, voiced her concerns during the conference. She lamented the increasing waiting times, staff shortages, and declining quality of healthcare services due to the diminishing support from PEPFAR. Her fears mirrored those of many others present, whose livelihoods and access to care were being threatened.\n\nThe cuts to PEPFAR funding have had a profound impact on Africa's HIV response. According to a recent report by KFF and UNAIDS, donor government funding for HIV programs in low- and middle-income countries dropped by $2.1 billion in 2025, marking the largest single-year decline since the global HIV financing began expanding two decades ago. This reduction has directly led to the closing of clinics, the scaling back of prevention programs, and the stagnation of research efforts.\n\nKenneth Ngure, IAS President-elect and researcher at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Kenya, emphasized the severity of the situation. He noted a 14% drop in the number of children living with HIV receiving supported treatment in fiscal year 2025 compared to the previous year. Ngure also highlighted the negotiations for new bilateral memoranda of understanding with the United States, which raise concerns about data-sharing and healthcare privacy.\n\nThese changes have sparked anxiety among health officials, researchers, and community advocates. Kenneth Ngure clarified that while African governments must take greater ownership of their HIV programs, the transition cannot occur overnight. The path to sustainable progress will heavily rely on countries investing in their own HIV responses, despite facing significant debt and fiscal constraints.\n\nMark Reid, former chief of science at PEPFAR and associate professor at UCSF, expressed sadness and disappointment over the funding crisis. He stressed that scientific innovations, such as long-acting prevention tools, would be ineffective if health systems weakened due to reduced support. Reid reiterated the importance of maintaining data-driven and equity-informed approaches in the HIV response, warning against complacency in the face of these challenges.",
  "summary": "[allAfrica] Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -- \"What is the plan before we get back to a stage where we are burying people?\"",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}