- Chaos and devastation is the position that South African USAID-funded health projects find themselves in after the Trump administration closed them down overnight on February 26.
- But it wasn’t only them. There were 5 800 such projects around the world.
- The bigger question now is: what will happen to the US government’s Aids fund, Pepfar, where most of the money for these projects came from? Will that too close down?
- On March 25, the US congress will vote to reauthorise Pepfar — or not. How will they vote?
- And will the US pull out of the Global Fund for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria?
- Mia Malan puts these questions to the 2022–3 Pepfar head of staff, Jirair Ratevosian. He’s now a Hock infectious disease fellow at Duke University’s Global Health Institute and also the chief author of a report that explains how to lower Pepfar’s costs by 20% over five years.
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Mia Malan is the founder and editor-in-chief of Bhekisisa. She has worked in newsrooms in Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington, DC, winning more than 30 awards for her radio, print and television work.
Danny Booysen is a freelance audio technical producer and has over 30 years of experience in the broadcast industry.
