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AHF – A global force in healthcare and empowerment [VIDEO]

AHF – A global force in healthcare and empowerment [VIDEO]

The Citizen15-07-2025
More effort is needed to formalise community health work.
South Africa's HIV response is at a critical turning point.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation leadership gathered in Sandton over breakfast to discuss impactful programmes and their continued commitment to addressing HIV/AIDS and related public health challenges.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the world's largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare provider, delivering medical care and advocacy across 47 countries, 14 of which are in Africa.
Since its founding in 1987, AHF has combined clinical services with bold policy advocacy to reach communities that are often underserved or forgotten.
'We advocate for adequate resource allocation so that we can sustain the gains in HIV response, close the potential gaps, and ensure that we continue to reach the communities that need the resources the most,' said Ngaatendwe Murombedzi from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
'I think the young people are quite important in this space because it is required that young people bring energy, and they also bring technical skills that are so much important in the fight against HIV and TB,' said Gauteng provincial legislature member, Dr Bandile Masuku.
Masuku continued by saying more work needs to be put into formalising community health work.
'Part of prevention, part of treatment is more done in the community level, not in hospitals, not in clinics, but it should be done on a street level as well as community level,' said Dr Masuku.
With operations spanning Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, AHF continues to fight for equitable access to life-saving healthcare and challenge systems that fail the most vulnerable.
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The $400m that US Congress hasn't cut with the rest of its funding programme doesn't undo the blow to global HIV and TB programmes By The $400m that the US Congress took off a list of programmes from which the Trump administration will now take back previously approved but unspent funds, doesn't mean the cuts to global HIV and TB programmes in February, including those in South Africa, are now reversed. HIV projects that have closed in South Africa, which were formerly funded by the US government, won't restart as a result of this decision. In fact, quite the opposite. The 'limited Pepfar waiver' that President Donald Trump announced in February remains in place. 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Rescissions happen when the presidential administration wants to cancel funding that was approved by Congress and then use it for something else. What the decision to remove the $400m from the package does, however, mean is that activism could finally be starting to pay off. Activists have had hundreds of meetings with US senators and Congress committee chairs. There have been 'Save Pepfar' social media campaigns, and plenty of media coverage about the devastating consequences of the funding cuts. Tens of modelling studies have also projected what could happen if the lost funds are not replaced. Opposition from within Trump's Republican Party against nonevidence-based cuts to a programme that has, for two decades, been supported by both the Democrats and Republicans and has saved over 25-million lives, is now at last emerging. 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We also know that the $400m was part of the financial budget for 2025, says Warren, but because the law gives Pepfar permission to spend money over five years, that money doesn't have to be legally spent until 2029. 3. What will the $400m now be used for? Again, no one knows. We don't even know if it will be used, because over the past few months, the Trump administration's main strategy has 'simply been to illegally impound funds — by announcing a 'funding freeze' or 'programmatic review' with no public notice at all — and force those harmed by the impoundments to pursue relief in court', the Centre on Budget and Policy Priorities explains in an analysis. But we do know what the money can't be used for. Unless the rules of Trump's 'limited waiver' are changed, Pepfar funds can mostly not be spent on any of the evidence-based strategies it paid for before Trump was elected in January. 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Ratevosian says this moment should be used to gain Republican support to change the waiver rules, so that Pepfar money can cover more of the populations and services needed for HIV prevention. Lenacapavir, a pricey twice-a-year anti-HIV jab, which scientists believe could help to stop HIV in its tracks if it's rolled out properly, could be used to convince Republican Congress members, says Ratevosian. 'Pepfar has long wanted to get countries to transition to taking more ownership [read: pay more] for their HIV responses. So now activists are arguing: 'Preventing more new infections with the jab, will make it easier for countries to take ownership because the pandemic will be easier to manage.'' In December, Pepfar said it would join another organisation, the Global Fund for HIV, TB and Malaria to buy enough lenacapavir for two-million people over three years. But in July, the Global Fund had to go ahead with the deal by itself, because Pepfar seemed to no longer be on board. 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We didn't think we lived in an earthquake zone, but January 20 [when Trump retook office] taught us: you need to be prepared for that earthquake and you therefore need a different infrastructure. 'In an earthquake you don't build back the same thing. You build better, something that is more resilient.' This story was produced by the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism. Sign up for the

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