JOHANNESBURG - World AIDS Day is being commemorated under the theme “Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response”. South Africa reflects on decades of work to reverse HIV, AIDS, and TB.
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Despite scientific progress and expanded treatment access, the global funding cuts, particularly from the United States, pose new challenges for long-term sustainability.
Mitchell Warren from the Scientific Advisory Board of the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief said, "in the fight against HIV and AIDS, I think one of the things we're seeing is a resilience and an opportunity, where countries and communities really need to lean in right now."
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"We should be thinking about making the smartest, most strategic decisions to prevent infections as rapidly as we can and to make sure that everybody that is living with HIV has access to anti-retrovirals."
Global funding cuts have raised questions about how countries can sustain long-term progress and strengthen their response.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said disruptions were limited as the majority of treatments were funded by the South African fiscus.
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Professor Salim Abdool Karim said, "South Africa had been doing really well."
"We're fortunate in South Africa, in that, we actually fund most of our AIDS programme from our own internal fiscus so we're not that dependent on the US."
"The US provides additional support for specialised care, for prevention services, for some staffing [but] the bulk of South Africa's programme is covered by ourselves."
"It has always been anticipated that Pepfar and funds that were being made available from the US is a donation and you can't expect a donation to continue forever."
Karim said the cessation of the fund was not the main problem, making the point, "what was the problem here, was the cruel way in which the funding was ended."
The government faces decisions on how to maintain progress in the national HIV, AIDS, and TB response.
Karim commented, "Young women bear the brunt of the HIV epidemic so we have to find ways to reach that group and provide them with the kinds of protection that will empower them."
Motsoaledi said the government has high hopes for the Lenacapavir injection.
Two annual jabs of Lenacapivir have proven to be effective in the prevention of HIV infections.