Minister Motsoaledi reaffirms South Africa’s commitment to HIV/AIDS efforts, despite PEPFAR cuts, with “Close the Gap” campaign already reaching over 500,000 people and reprioritizing R659 million in funding.
Image: GCIS
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has responded to growing concerns about the future of South Africa’s HIV/Aids program amid a significant funding cut from the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar), emphasising the government's commitment to continue its work and correct misinformation spreading in the public.
Speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday, Motsoaledi highlighted both the progress made in the fight against HIV and Aids and the immediate steps being taken to address the funding shortfall and its impact on key populations and healthcare workers.
“We are not here today to state that this could all be made. What we are here today is to provide facts and legal, and an account of what we have done,” said Motsoaledi.
“In this case, we are prepared to be fact-checked by the media houses because we are aware that some media houses have established a check system.”
South Africa currently has an estimated 7.9 million people living with HIV. The minister said the government's goal remains aligned with UNAIDS targets of 95-95-95, meaning 95% of people living with HIV should know their status, 95% of those should be on antiretroviral treatment (ART), and 95% of those on ART should be virally suppressed.
“We have calculated that to move the '79' ,the middle 79 ,to '95', we need 1.1 million people who are known to be HIV positive but are not on ARVs. We call this campaign ‘Close the Gap,’” Motsoaledi said.
Motsoaledi acknowledged the devastating effect of PEPFAR's funding reductions, which led to 8,061 healthcare workers losing their jobs. These workers were among the 15,589 PEPFAR-funded staff within a larger HIV workforce of over 271,000.
“Out of 271,606 people working on HIV programs, 15,589 were funded by PEPFAR. Because PEPFAR is off, 8,061 are out of jobs. That’s very unfortunate, but we can confirm,” he said.
However, Motsoaledi said 7,478 Pepfar-supported staff will remain employed through Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funds until at least September 2025.
Despite reduced resources, the department continues its efforts, having reprioritized R659 million from HIV/AIDS conditional grants to support the campaign.
The minister revealed that the government has already reached over 500,000 people through the “Close the Gap” campaign, far surpassing the initial December 2024 target of 100,000.
“The reason that we’re able to reach half a million people in a very short piece of time was because of weekly check-in meetings in the provinces,” he said, noting the close involvement of civil society and provincial health authorities.
Weekly meetings and real-time verification of ground reports helped keep the campaign responsive and efficient, allowing for real-time adjustments and monitoring of new diagnoses and ART initiation, he said.
Motsoaledi said the department is also addressing healthcare access challenges for key populations such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, and truck drivers in high transmission areas. Between January and March 2025, 88.66% of the department's 154,298 target for key population outreach was achieved.
He noted that four NGOs, the Alliance Against HIV and Aids, the Center for Positive Care, the National LGBTI Health Campaign, and NOFTA Alliance, have received direct state funding to serve these communities.
A total of 1,012 clinicians and 2,377 non-clinicians have been trained to offer more sensitive and respectful services to key population groups, with training ongoing in the remaining provinces.
“The training is aimed at empowering health workers to appropriately engage the key population clients with dignity and the respect they deserve,” Motsoaledi said.
Responding to public criticism from prominent HIV/Aids advocates, Motsoaledi urged all stakeholders to stop sowing division and instead unite in the fight to eliminate Aids as a public health threat.
“Fighting each other, interrogating each other, pointing fingers, reporting and spreading disinformation is definitely not the way,” he said. “Rather, this is a time to come together, unite, and fight this one strong belief.”
He emphasised the inclusive role of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), which comprises 18 sectors of society and coordinates national responses to HIV/Aids.
“No single South African can be declared free that SANAC doesn’t represent them and give them a chance to participate and convey their views, their beliefs, their desires, and their fears,” he said.
Motsoaledi reaffirmed the government's ongoing efforts and openness to collaboration, stating: “As government, our doors are open.
hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za
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