SA government silent as country's HIV programme unravels

Two decades ago, South Africa's HIV crisis was defined by denialism and delay.

- Francois Venter

Then president Thabo Mbeki and the late health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang presided over a period in which scientific consensus was rejected and the roll-out of antiretroviral (ARV) medicines was obstructed, and preventable deaths spiralled into the hundreds of thousands. The pair's names are now linked to one of the worst public health failures in modern history.

The consequences of today's inaction will also be deadly.

Sadly, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and President Cyril Ramaphosa are charting their own tragic legacy. This time, it isn't denialism, it's ignoring the problem.

The US has abruptly suspended almost all foreign development assistance globally, including the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) and National Institutes of Health research grants.

In South Africa, NGO-led clinics closed overnight, ARV stockouts were reported and thousands of workers across HIV programmes lost their jobs.

Pepfar progress on the brink

South Africa's HIV response has made monumental strides over the past two decades: