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

A nurse takes a blood sample from a child for an HIV test while the child's mother looks on at a clinic in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg, South Africa, March 12, 2025. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -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cut aid that funded health workers and clinics, with pregnant women, infants and youth the most affected, previously unpublished government data shows.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.