Measures to close US funding gap and secure TB and HIV services remain missing from latest budget

Press release

21 May 2025

The TB Accountability Consortium remains concerned about the Finance Minister’s failure to explain how the government will fill the funding gap created by the withdrawal of US aid.

The rollout of both TB and HIV services is directly affected by the withdrawal of these funds. Any delays by the government in addressing this funding gap will have a direct impact on the provision of services at facilities that were previously funded by this aid.

Just over four months have passed since US President Donald Trump dealt a devastating blow to the global healthcare community, issuing stop orders to freeze US development funds. Delivering his budget speech yesterday, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana stated that the spending pressures caused by the withdrawal of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funding would only be addressed later this year.

Although the funding gap only covers 17% of HIV and TB services in South Africa, TBAC is concerned that further delays in filling this gap will compromise services to those who need them most. The aid amounts to about R7 billion and covers the salaries for 15,000 health workers, of which 8000 are community health workers, 2000 are nurses, and 300 are doctors.

The delays from National Treasury in addressing the funding gap around these services come amid the National Department of Health launching two ambitious health campaigns this year — to get an additional 1.1 million people on antiretroviral treatment and to test 5.5 million people for TB.

TBAC Programme Director Russell Rensburg said there were more than 27 districts were funded by international aid. “The government’s plans to reduce the burden of TB and HIV would be compromised if services were not rolled out in these districts. As TBAC, we maintain our calls from earlier this year. If this funding gap is not addressed, critical support in the provision of HIV and TB services in South Africa will be crippled,” he said.

South Africa also has the largest antiretroviral programme in the world, with close to 5.8 million people on the lifesaving drugs. Research has also shown that close 60% of people who have TB are coinfected with HIV. There are also about 280 000 people estimated to have TB each year and it remains the biggest infectious disease killer.

For more information contact and interviews, please contact:

Aphelele Buqwana – TBAC Communications
0846678162
abuqwana@rhap.org.za

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