Exclusive: HIV patient testing falls in South Africa after US aid cuts, data shows

By Nellie Peyton

Testing and monitoring of HIV patients across South Africa have fallen since the United States cut aid that funded health workers and clinics, with pregnant women, infants and youth the most affected, previously unpublished government data shows.

South Africa has the world’s highest burden of HIV, with about 8 million people – one in five adults – living with the virus. The United States was funding 17% of the country’s HIV budget until President Donald Trump slashed aid early this year.

Data from the National Health Laboratory Service, a government entity, showed that viral load testing fell by up to 21% among key groups in the last two months, which four HIV experts said appeared to be due to the loss of U.S. funding.

Viral load testing measures how much virus is in the blood of people living with HIV who are on anti-retroviral treatment. It is normally done at