JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa expressed approval on Thursday of a U.S. financial initiative valued at $115 million, which would sustain HIV treatment and prevention programs through the end of March, highlighting it as an indicator of strong bilateral ties amid recent disagreements.
The U.S. President's Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, is credited with saving over 25 million lives over two decades of individuals living with HIV, mostly in Africa. South Africa has the largest number in the world of peopleliving with HIV.
In January, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order that halted all international assistance to South Africa, including the PEPFAR program.
Although a temporary exception was first provided for the 90-day freeze, the US started ending grants in late February 2025, and mostfunding stayed frozen or was halted, leading to job cuts and operational interruptions.
The United States once provided over $400 million annually to South Africa's HIV initiatives and non-profit groups, accounting for roughly 17% of the overall financial support, as stated by the health department.
As a consequence of the funding halt, over8,000 medical professionals were terminated from their positionsand the 12 specialized HIV clinics, which were operated by non-governmental organizations and supported by the previously closed United States Agency for International Development, USAID, were shut down.
South African Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, informed journalists on Thursday that the cabinet expressed support for the PEPFAR Bridge Plan's approval by the United States.
She mentioned that the shortest notice period for nations to plan their budgets was one of the main concerns raised when President Trump halted PEPFAR funding, and the "bridge plan" aimed to resolve this issue.
"It's a sign of the positive bilateral ties between South Africa and the U.S., so that when we have issues, they step in and we can reach a friendly resolution to the matter," Ntshavheni added.
Even though the minister maintained an optimistic outlook, tensions between the two nations remain high. Trump alleged that the Black-majority administration is responsible for a genocide againstminority white Afrikaners, even expediting refugee applications for Afrikaners to relocate to the U.S.
In addition to halting financial assistance and applying 30% tariffs on South Africa's exports to the U.S., Trump has criticized the nation's position regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict. In 2023,South Africa submitted a legal case to the International Court of Justice., alleging that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was removed by the United States.due to his critique of Trump, who has suggested he might not be present at the G20 gathering of global leaders set to occur in Johannesburg in November.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledimentioned during a national roundtable discussion earlier this week that he learned, during a recent visit by an American delegation, that Washington is "modifying its strategy regarding PEPFAR" and is providing different transition periods for funding to countries, as long as five years in certain instances, before PEPFAR funding is completely ended.
That strategy is still in the process of being developed and isn't yet prepared," he stated. "We should be pleased about this since it could have been more problematic.
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