Documented impact on services 

According to the Department of Health Consolidated Impact Assessment report, the three most impacted provinces regarding HIV and TB prevention services following the US funding cuts are Western Cape, Northwest and Gauteng.

The closure of key population clinics has disrupted access to routine services, including PrEP, and clients have been referred to public health facilities. The DREAMS programme and other services for adolescents and young people have also been impacted, including the mobile outreach services for high transmission areas. According to the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, the funding cuts could compromise care in non-U districts as decision-makers have limited access to the stock visibility system (SVS) and national dashboards. The mobile application (SVS App) and web management portal (SVS Web) have been used to monitor the availability of medicines and other health commodities at over 3 000 public health clinics and over 300 hospitals since 2015.

Civil society impact, resilience and response

Community initiatives addressing HIV now hang in the balance following funding cuts. Some community-based organizations have been forced to shut down certain programmes while others have stopped operating entirely. These programs provide access to nutritious food in underserved areas, which is vital to improve children's overall treatment. Other programmes include protecting survivors of gender-based and sexual violence through provision of counselling services, HIV preventive medication and safe spaces for women.

Government actions 

The Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, says a new budget allocation to the Department of Health is aimed at addressing longstanding backlogs and rebuilding the country’s strained healthcare system.

The Department of Health will spend ZAR1.4 billion to urgently procure critical medical equipment, including hospital beds and other consumables which have been in short supply across many public hospitals. This is in addition to strengthening healthcare staffing levels at the cost of ZAR 1.78 billion. 

Close the Gap campaign 

As part of the Close the Gap Campaign, the Department of Health is aiming to reach over 600 thousand men for linkage to HIV treatment. A men’s health clinic in KwaZulu-Natal, launched as a pilot project by the Department of Health has been hailed as a groundbreaking success. Health services provided to men include standard primary healthcare, VMMC, and prostate cancer screening. There are trained male nurses specifically assigned to these dedicated sections. Feedback received indicates that men appreciate the separate space where they feel “seen and heard”. Due to demand, the project has been expanded to five other municipal clinics.