By Johnathan Paoli
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has called for renewed attention to global setbacks and local efforts to close critical treatment gaps in the fight against HIV/Aids, particularly in the face of declining international funding.
Motsoaledi, who was joined by United Nations Aids executive director Winnie Byanyima, launched the 2025 Global Aids Update at Bertha Gxowa Hospital in Germiston, Ekurhuleni, on Thursday.
He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to addressing the scourge.
“We don’t want to remain number one in HIV cases, we want to become number one in eliminating HIV. That’s our plan. Like smallpox, HIV can become something we only read about in history books,” Motsoaledi said.
Byanyima sounded the alarm over what she called a “ticking time bomb” for the global HIV/Aids response.
While 2024 saw substantial progress in reducing new infections and AIDS-related deaths, she warned that the sudden withdrawal of major donor funding, particularly from
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