Trump cuts HIV funding to South Africa

President Donald Trump-led United States government has announced an end to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in South Africa.

The Trump administration argued that South Africa has failed to address what Washington described as violence, discrimination and displacement affecting white South Africans.

Reports showed that the U.S. State Department outlined a series of concerns it said South Africa had failed to address before the decision was reached, according to Daily Caller.

Among the issues raised by Washington were South Africa's Black Economic Empowerment policies, which U.S. officials said lacked exemptions for American companies, as well as what they described as insufficient condemnation by senior government officials of racially charged rhetoric, including the controversial “Kill the Boer” chant.

The State Department also faulted Pretoria over the Expropriation Act of 2024, warning against measures that could permit the seizure of property without what it termed fair compensation and due process.

U.S. officials further urged the South African government to classify rural crime as a priority and dedicate more resources to combating attacks in farming communities.

Another concern cited by Washington involved South Africa's handling of refugee matters, with the State Department insisting that authorities should avoid actions capable of disrupting the implementation of refugee programmes under South African law.

“South Africa is a middle-income country and is more than capable of supporting its own health programs,” a State Department spokesperson told the Daily Caller.

Trump has repeatedly accused South African authorities of failing to protect white farmers and other members of the country's white minority.

During a White House meeting in May 2025 with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Trump ordered aides to dim the lights in the Oval Office and played a compilation of videos showing opposition politicians chanting slogans calling for the killing of Boers, a term commonly associated with white farmers.

While the footage was being shown, Trump claimed there were more than a thousand burial sites of white farmers and alleged that families regularly gathered there to honour victims. Ramaphosa reportedly remained largely expressionless during the presentation.

The meeting later became heated when NBC News correspondent Peter Alexander attempted to question Trump about a luxury aircraft donated by Qatar to the United States.

An irritated Trump cut him off and accused the network of trying to divert attention from the issue of violence against white South Africans.

“You ought to get out of here. What does this have to do with a Qatari jet?” Trump said before launching into a scathing attack on the journalist and executives at NBC.

The U.S. president subsequently displayed newspaper clippings and reports he said documented murders and rapes involving white South Africans.

“These articles over the last few days, death of people, death, death, horrible death,” Trump said while holding up the reports.

Source: Sahara Reporters