US to phase down Pepfar funding for South Africa's HIV programs amid policy tensions

The United States will begin phasing out the Pepfar funding that supported South Africa’s HIV programs, citing SA’s insufficient progress on U.S. policy requests and a push for self-reliance. Pepfar previously accounted for about a fifth of SA’s HIV spending, though antiretrovirals are government-funded. The move comes amid fraught US-South Africa relations under the Trump administration, including accusations of Afrikaner persecution.