The decision by the US President to temporarily halt foreign funding for 90 days pending a review is expected to leave 15,145 employees of several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in South Africa without jobs.
The devastating impact of the funding freeze was revealed today, 29 January 2025, by the Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, on the sidelines of the ongoing Cabinet Lekgotla in Pretoria.
Motsoaledi said the affected funding is channelled through the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which was established to support the fight against HIV/AIDS.
“Now, the total number of people on the ground who are dealing with HIV/AIDS in those 27 districts, the total number of people is 271 000 people, 271 606 to be exact, those are the people on the ground everyday who are fighting HIV and AIDS. Now, out of that number 256 452 are funded by us as South Africa.
“And I want to repeat the number because that is very important to understand, we have got an army of 271 606 on the ground in the 27 districts fighting HIV and AIDS, 256 452 are funded are funded by us South Africa from our own fiscus. That leaves us with 15 145 people, those are the ones who will be affected by whatever withdrawal is there,” Motsoaledi told the press conference.
He emphasised that PEPFAR funding has been particularly crucial in provinces like KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, where the HIV/AIDS burden is high. In total, 27 districts across South Africa benefit from the funding.
“Seven of them (districts benefiting) are in KZN, for very obvious reasons, KZN (KwaZulu-Natal) is highly affected, five of them are in Eastern Cape, four of them are here in Gauteng, three in Mpumalanga, three in North West, two in Limpopo and in the Western Cape it’s only the Cape metro that is that category. So it’s a total of 27 ” he said.
Motsoaledi reassured the public that, in the likely event that the funding is withdrawn, HIV/AIDS services will not be disrupted. The remaining staff will continue to provide services on the ground.
Meanwhile, some NGOs that receive funding from the US have already instructed their staff to stay at home while awaiting further clarity on Trump’s next move.
One such organisation is the Maternal, Adolescent and Child Health Institute (MatCH), an Indigenous South African public-benefit organisation that provides HIV and TB-related technical assistance, capacity building, and direct service delivery support to improve access to care, client outcomes and health services management.
The NGO, which has been operating for 17 years, is based in KwaZulu-Natal and employs 1,700 employees.
MatCH did not respond to African Times’ request for comment on the latest developments or how many of its staff, most of whom are based in clinics across KwaZulu-Natal, will be affected.
