HIV and AIDS activists in the United States have warned its government to guard against complacency in the fight against HIV globally.
New York is the fourth most populous state in the US with over 19 million people.
New York City, the state’s largest city, was one of the first cities where incidents of HIV and Aids were reported in the eighties.
An AIDS memorial has been built there for victims of the virus.
Fast forward to 2017,and the area has been hailed for its efforts in fighting the spread of HIV and Aids.
But now the United States Administration is likely to cut its contribution to the global fight against HIV and Aids by about 800 million US dollars in its 2018 budget.
The US is reportedly the biggest donor to South Africa’s HIV and Aids programmes through the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids, (PEPFAR) which is being credited for saving millions of lives.
Aids Activist in the United States like Daniel Tietz believes cutting the funding is likely to reverse the gains made in fighting the epidemic:
“I think we still have an epidemic in our hands around the world, in countries that have access to medication and quality healthcare, we still have challenges and I don’t think it’s a time to be stepping back from the epidemic.”
South Africa has more than 7 million people living with HIV most of them in KwaZulu-Natal.
The province’s health MEC, Dr. Sbongiseni Dhlomo, says the high rate of new infections remains a huge concern.
“We were anticipating that with time, the international community is going to slowly reduce their contribution to us, which annually has been coming gradually, at the time the funding has dried out, we will probably be able to match that with our coffers.”
There have been calls for improved co-operation between various stakeholders, which could help deal with challenges such as funding.
