CHINA EXPANDS HIV/AIDS FUNDING IN AFRICA AS US AID DECLINES

China is expanding funding for HIV and AIDS prevention across Africa through its Health Silk Road initiative, according to statements from the UN. The expansion comes as the United States has reduced its international health commitments, including closing the US Agency for International Development and cutting funding to the World Health Organisation and the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar). UNAids executive director Winnie Byanyima revealed that China's Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund is backing HIV prevention projects in Lesotho, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

South Africa, which recorded approximately eight million people living with HIV, received a US$3.49 million Chinese grant to fund prevention programmes targeting more than 50,000 young people and harm-reduction services for people who inject drugs. China is also backing local medicine manufacturing as part of its health initiative. Meanwhile, the United States has signed bilateral health agreements with some African countries, though Zambia and Zimbabwe declined to sign such agreements, citing concerns about data sovereignty and sensitive health information sharing.

Byanyima voiced gratitude for China's "strong commitment to multilateralism" in the fight against HIV and AIDS. The shift in funding sources reflects a broader repositioning of health aid delivery in Africa, with traditional Western support declining and Chinese investment increasing. The long-term implications of this transition for HIV prevention and treatment outcomes across the continent remain to be assessed.