theguardian.org – Sweeping notices of termination of funding have been received by organisations working with HIV and Aids across Africa, with dire predictions of a huge rise in deaths as a result.
After the US announced a permanent end to funding for HIV projects, services across the board have been affected, say doctors and programme managers, from projects helping orphans and pregnant women to those reaching [so-called] transgender individuals and [prostitutes].
The cuts could result in 500,000 deaths over the next 10 years in South Africa, modeling suggests, while thousands of people are already set to lose their jobs in the coming days.
The US government has announced it will be cutting more than 90% of the contracts of its key development agency, USAid, and slashing $60 billion of overseas aid spending.
The Guardian has heard that notices of termination have been sent to organisations in other countries in the region, including Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, as well as with the joint United Nations programme UNAids.
“It is not hyperbole to say that I predict a huge disaster.” – Prof Linda-Gail Bekker, director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the University of Cape Town
The Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric Aids Foundation said it had received termination notices for three of its projects, which provide HIV treatment for more than 350,000 people in Lesotho, Eswatini and Tanzania.
The figure includes more than 10,000 HIV-positive pregnant women, who must continue taking antiretroviral drugs to avoid passing the disease on to their babies.
Dr Lynne Mofenson, a senior adviser at the foundation, said the decision was “a death sentence for mothers and children”.
Many projects had been forced to stop work in late January after the Trump administration announced a 90-day review of foreign aid …
