For the inhabitants of remote South African villages, getting access to medication is a challenge. HIV patients like 19-year-old Nozuko Majola must travel more than an hour to get the vital antiretroviral medication they need. But it wasn't always like this.

"We used to get the drugs delivered to our homes, but since Donald Trump announced he was cutting aid, the drugs have stopped coming. I'm worried that this service will be canceled altogether," Majola told DW.

She is one of an estimated 8 million people living with HIV in South Africa. The country has one of the highest rates of HIV in the world. Another HIV patient, Nozuko Ngaweni, who has been taking antiretroviral medications (ARVs) for decades, now fears for her life.

"When I heard that the US had canceled its aid, I felt like I was dying," she said. "I asked myself: 'Will I get medication next month? I have medication for this month, but what comes after?'"


The US has donated to South Africa's health sector for many decades, primarily to combat HIV/AIDS. In 2023, the US gave the country $400 million (€352 million) in funding.

The US funding cuts to South Africa's HIV/AIDS programs could lead to more than 500,000 deaths over the next decade, the head of the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, Linda-Gail Bekker, told reporters in February.
After taking office on January 20, President Trump issued an executive order that paused foreign aid assistance for 90 days. The review ended with the decision to dismantle USAID as an independent agency. The administration slashed 90% of foreign contracts and grants funded by the US aid agency.

Such funding cuts........

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