The State of HIV/AIDS Funding in Southern Africa

Millions of people across Africa rely on HIV/AIDS treatment funded by the United States – through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. PEPFAR received strong bipartisan support from U.S. lawmakers for decades. But today, the Trump administration’s attempts to cut and restructure foreign aid have created crippling instability for HIV/AIDS prevention and care.

Even after federal funding for PEPFAR was restored following public outcry, frontline workers now talk about a spike in AIDS-related deaths; a demoralized workforce; a lack of adherence to best practices; and an annihilation of the United States’ reputation. One career public health worker called it a “slow moving disaster.”

A team from NPR's All Things Considered traveled to South Africa and Mozambique to hear from the patients, health care workers, and researchers impacted by changes to PEPFAR funding.