Top Stories
South Africa’s HIV/Aids patients worry about treatment
BBC News, Johannesburg
Gugu used to collect her antiretrovirals from a USAID-funded clinic in downtown Johannesburg.
But when President Trump’s cuts to aid funding were announced earlier this year, she and thousands of other HIV-positive patients across South Africa suddenly faced an uncertain future.
Gugu was lucky, the clinic where she got the medication that helps suppress her symptoms contacted her before it closed down.
“I was one of the people who was able to get their medication in bulk. I usually collect a three-month prescription. But before my clinic closed, they gave me nine months’ worth of medication.”
She will run out of antiretrovirals (ARVs) in September, and then plans on going to her local public hospital for more.
A former sex worker, the 54-year-old found out she was HIV-positive after she’d quit the industry.
Ten years ago she got a chesty cough, and initially thought it was tuberculosis. She went to a doctor who told her she had a chest infection and treated her for it.
But when the treatment failed, she went to a clinic to get an HIV test.
“By then I already assumed that I was HIV-positive, and I told the nurse this.”
She was right, and she has been on ARVs ever since. We’re not using her real name at her request.
She currently works as a project coordinator for an NGO.
“We help pregnant sex workers get their ARVs, to ensure their children are born HIV-negative. We also do home visits to make sure that the mothers take their medication on time, and to look after their babies when they go for their monthly check-ups.”
Many HIV-positive sex workers in South Africa relied on private clinics funded by the US government’s now-defunct aid agency, USAID, to get their prescriptions and treatments.
But most of the facilities closed after US President Donald Trump cut most foreign aid earlier this year.
In a report due to be released on Thursday, the UN body in charge of fighting HIV/Aids does not single out the US, but says that drastic cuts from a number of donors have sent shockwaves around the world, and the “phenomenal progress” in tackling the illness risks being reversed.
“New HIV infections have been reduced by 40% since 2010, and 4.4 million children have been protected from acquiring HIV since 2000. More than 26 million lives have been saved,” UNAIDS says, warning that if the world does not act, there could be an extra six million new HIV infections and four million Aids-related deaths by 2029.
Gugu believes that many sex workers could be discouraged from going to public hospitals for their HRVs..
“The problem with going to public hospitals is the time factor. In order to get serviced at these facilities, you have to arrive at 4 or 5am, and they may spend the whole day waiting for their medication. For sex workers, time is money,” Gugu says.
She adds that she recently went to her local clinic with some friends to register her details and build a relationship with staff.
“The nurse who attended to us was very rude. She told us there was nothing special about sex workers.”
She thinks this could lead to many sex workers defaulting on their medication, “especially because their hospital files contain a lot of personal information, and the concern is that sometimes the nurses at these local clinics aren’t always the most sensitive in dealing with this kind of information.”
According to the UN, the US cuts to HIV funding could reverse some of the gains made by what has been called one of the most successful public health interventions in history.
Scientists in the UK-based Lancet medical journal last month estimated that USAID funding directly reduced Aids deaths by 65%, or 25.5 million, over the past two decades.
Then-US President George W Bush launched an ambitious programme to combat HIV/Aids in 2003, saying it would serve the “strategic and moral interests” of the US.
Known as the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar), it led to the investment of more than $100bn (£74bn) in the global HIV/Aids response – the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease in the world.
South Africa has about 7.7 million people living with HIV, the highest number in the world, according to UNAIDS.
About 5.9 million of them receive antiretroviral treatment, resulting in a 66% decrease in Aids-related deaths since 2010, the UN agency adds.
South Africa’s government says Pepfar funding contributed about 17% to its HIV/Aids programme. The money was used for various projects, including running mobile clinics to make it easier for patients to get treatment.
The Trump administration’s cuts have raised concern that infection rates could spike again.
“I think we’re going to start seeing an increase in the number of HIV infections, the number of TB cases, the number of other infectious diseases,” Prof Lynn Morris, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Johannesburg’s Wits University, tells the BBC.
“And we’re going to start seeing a reversal of what was essentially a real success story. We were getting on top of some of these things.”
Gugu points out that treatment is a matter of life and death, especially for vulnerable populations like sex workers.
“People don’t want to default on their ARVs. They’re scared that they’re going to die if they don’t get access to them.
The cuts have also affected research aimed at finding an HIV vaccine and a cure for Aids.
“There’s the long-term impact, which is that we’re not going to be getting new vaccines for HIV,” Prof Morris adds.
“We’re not going to be keeping on top of viruses that are circulating. Even with new viruses that might appear, we’re not going to have the surveillance infrastructure that we once had.”
South Africa has been one of the global leaders in HIV research. Many of the medications that help prevent the virus, and which have benefitted people around the world, were trialled in South Africa.
This includes Prep (pre-exposure prophylaxis), a medication which stops HIV-negative people from catching the virus.
Another breakthrough preventive drug released this year, Lenacapavir, an injection taken twice a year and that offers total protection from HIV, was also tried in South Africa.
In a lab at Wits University’s Health Sciences campus, a small group of scientists are still working on a vaccine for HIV.
They are part of the Brilliant Consortium, a group of labs working across eight African countries to develop a vaccine for the virus.
“We were developing a vaccine test to see how well that works, and then we would trial it on humans,” Abdullah Ely, an Associate Professor at Wits University, tells the BBC in his lab.
“The plan was to run the trials in Africa based on research carried out by Africans because we want that research to actually benefit our community as well as all mankind.”
But the US funding cuts threw their work into doubt.
“When the stop order came, it meant we had to stop everything. Only some of us have been able to get additional funding so we could continue our work. It’s set us back months, probably could even be a year,” Prof Ely says.
The lab lacks funding to carry out clinical trials scheduled for later this year.
“That is a very big loss to South Africa and the continent. It means that any potential research that comes out of Africa will have to be tested in Europe, or the US,” Prof Ely says.
In June, universities asked the government for a bailout of 4.6bn South African rand ($260m; £190m) over the next three years to cover some of the funding lost from the US.
“We are pleading for support because South Africa is leading in HIV research, but it’s not leading for itself. This has ramifications on the practice and policies of the entire globe,” says Dr Phethiwe Matutu, head of Universities South Africa.
South Africa’s Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced on Wednesday that some alternative funding for research had been secured.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust have agreed to donate 1m rand each with immediate effect, while the government would make available 400m rand over the next three years, he said.
This would bring the total to 600m rand, way below the 4.6bn rand requested by researchers.
As for Gugu, she had hoped that by the time she was elderly, a cure for HIV/Aids would have been found, but she is less optimistic now.
“I look after a nine-year-old. I want to live as long as I can to keep taking care of him,” she tells the BBC.
“This isn’t just a problem for right now, we have to think about how it’s going to affect the next generation of women and young people.”
You may also be interested in:
Top Stories
Cooper Flagg wins Summer League debut despite uneven showing
LAS VEGAS — Cooper Flagg made his professional debut Thursday night in the NBA Summer League and celebrated an 87-85 win over Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Flagg finished with 10 points on 5-for-21 shooting, including 0 for 5 from 3-point range. He also had six rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block. Though Flagg struggled at times to find his rhythm, there were flashes as to why he was chosen No. 1 overall last month, doing plenty of little things that helped the Mavericks seal the win, including a key block near the end of the game.
Flagg swatted DJ Steward’s attempt with 1:10 left in the game, and Ryan Nembhard made a 3-pointer at the other end to give Dallas the 87-85 lead.
Flagg strolled into UNLV’s Thomas and Mack Center at 4:17 p.m. on Thursday, wearing Dallas Mavericks gear, bright white New Balance shoes, and an emotionless look on his face as he passed through security.
Roughly 45 minutes later, he wore the same stone-cold face as he came out for warmups shortly after 5 p.m.
His fans more than made up for it with plenty of energy, electrifying the jam-packed arena that cheered loudest when he was announced as a starter in his first Summer League game.
Flagg missed his first two attempts of the game, picked up his first foul just 46 seconds into the game, and gave the crowd what they’d been anticipating, going one-on-one with fellow fan favorite James.
James buried his first attempt over Flagg, and then hit a 3-pointer after the 6-foot-8 Duke product missed his second attempt to give the Lakers a 5-0 lead.
Flagg excited the crowd at the 4:30 mark of the first quarter, jamming home his first points.
Early in the second quarter, Flagg nearly sent every fan in the building into a frenzy when he made a spin move into the paint and attempted a one-handed slam dunk over 7-foot Christian Koloko. The ball caromed off the back of the rim and still drew plenty of oohs and ahhs.
Generally filled with Lakers fans when the team plays in the summer, the arena was full of emotion with a fair share of Mavericks fans in attendance to see the 2025 National college player of the year.
Like 15-year-old Baer Epple, 15, who was seated with his father Chad in the third row from the court, donning Dirk Nowitzki’s Mavericks jersey.
Epple said he’s been following Flagg since before his Duke days, beginning with his junior year at Nokomis Regional High School in Newport, Maine.
The 15-year-old who is in Las Vegas from Seattle for an AAU tournament said he’s been a Mavericks fan for roughly four years.
“Even more of a fan now that they got Cooper Flagg,” Epple said. “Hopefully he does good, that’d be pretty cool to see. I don’t want him to be like a bust or anything.”
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd told The Associated Press before the game he’s looking for nothing more than effort and grit in his team’s opening game, as he wants them all playing hard.
“This summer league is a little different when you have this type of turnout,” Kidd said. “But the guys have had a couple practices. There’s going to be some turnovers. I just want to see how they respond to a couple of mistakes being made, no one’s gonna play a perfect game and be unselfish.”
As for his prize draft pick: “We’re all excited,” Kidd said of Flagg. “Seen enough of him on tape, so now it’s good to see him on the floor.”
Top Stories
Judge blocks Trump’s birthright order after Supreme Court ruling
A US judge has once again blocked President Donald Trump from implementing an executive order ending birth right citizenship for some US residents as a legal challenge moves forward.
A New Hampshire judge approved a class action lawsuit against Trump’s executive order, and temporarily stopped the president’s order from taking effect.
The class action lawsuit was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of immigrant parents and their infants.
The decision comes weeks after the Supreme Court introduced limits on how and when universal injunctions are issued by federal courts. However, the decision still allows them through certain legal avenues.
The class action suit was introduced after the Supreme Court decision, in keeping with the new standards set by the court.
Still, the White House challenged the validity of the judge’s ruling.
“Today’s decision is an obvious and unlawful attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court’s clear order against universal relief. This judge’s decision disregards the rule of law by abusing class action certification procedures,” spokesman Harrison Fields said in a statement Thursday. “The Trump Administration will be fighting vigorously against the attempts of these rogue district court judges to impede the policies President Trump was elected to implement.”
The lawsuit argues Trump’s order goes against the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which established that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside”.
Trump has sought to revoke that right for babies born to undocumented immigrants and foreign visitors, as part of his crackdown on immigration.
The class-action lawsuit seeks to challenge the order as harmful and unconstitutional, and the judge ruled that it can proceed on behalf of the babies who would be affected by the restrictions.
The ruling also once again pauses an order that was a priority for Trump. The judge has given the government seven days to appeal.
Restricting birthright citizenship was one of his first actions in office.
Multiple courts across the US issued nationwide injunctions as they considered legal challenges to the order.
The Trump administration appealed those temporary holds to the highest US court, arguing judges did not have the authority to block a presidential order nationally while the courts considered the cases.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority sided with Trump in a 6-3 ruling that broadly curtailed judicial power, though the justices did not address the constitutionality of Trump’s birthright citizenship order.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, Trump’s order had been set to take effect on 27 July.
Top Stories
Rubio in bind as he seeks to reassure Asia, even as region faces punishing Trump tariffs | Tariffs
Even as they face among the most punitive tariffs globally, US secretary of state Marco Rubio has sought to reassure southeast Asian nations of Washington’s commitment to the region, saying countries there may get “better” trade deals than the rest of the world.
In his first official visit to Asia, Rubio met foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Malaysia on Thursday, telling his counterparts the US has “no intention of abandoning” the region.
His visit came days after president Donald Trump renewed his threat to impose severe tariffs across many southeast Asian countries if they did not strike deals by 1 August.
The region, which includes countries that rely on exports and manufacturing, has been among the worst hit by Trump’s trade war.
Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines and Indonesia were sent letters this week warning they will face tariffs ranging from 20-40% – levies that Rubio said were being discussed with Asean countries.
“I would say that when all is said and done, many of the countries in Southeast Asia are going to have tariff rates that are actually better than countries in other parts of the world,” Rubio said.
Prior to Rubio’s arrival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim condemned the tariffs, saying the trade war was not a “passing storm” but instead “the new weather of our time”.
Tools once used to generate growth were now being “wielded to pressure, isolate and contain”, he said.
The looming tariffs have cast a shadow over Rubio’s trip, even as he sought to underline the importance of southeast Asia to Washington.
“It is our view, our strong view, and the reality that this century and the next, the story of the next 50 years, will largely be written here in this region, in this part of the world,” he said.
Stephen Olson, visiting senior fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said Rubio had “the unenviable position of trying to reassure southeast Asian partners that [the] US continues to be committed to the region and to free and open trade relations when all the evidence points in the opposite direction.”
“Asean ministers will give him a polite and respectful reception but are unlikely to be fundamentally persuaded by anything he says,” added Olson.
Questions over Washington’s commitment to the region coupled with Trump’s unpredictable economic polices could be a boon for China.
At the same meeting China and Asean, which is China’s largest trading partner, completed negotiations to further refine their free trade area to include additional industries.
And in veiled comments, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi appeared to draw a contrast between Washington and Beijing – presenting China as a reliable partner interested in mutual development.
Without naming the US directly, he criticised Trump’s tariffs, highlighting “unilateral protectionism and the abuse of tariffs by a certain major country”.
In another sign of the economic recalibration, Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba told a television news programme that Japan needed to wean itself from US dependence in key areas.
“If they think Japan ought to follow what America says as we depend heavily on them, then we need to work to become more self-sufficient in security, energy and food, and less dependent on America,” he said.
Vietnam is the only Asian country, and the second globally, to reach a trade deal with the US. Under the agreement many goods will face a tariff of 20% but a 40% levy will remain for so-called transshipments – a provision that is aimed at Chinese companies accused of passing their products through Vietnam to avoid tariffs.
Trump’s agreement with Vietnam is seen by analysts as a sign he will use tariff negotiations to try to pressure countries to cut China from their supply chains.
Southeast Asian nations have rushed to offer concessions to Trump to avert the tariffs, which could devastate economic growth.
Levies loom over eight out of 10 Asean nations, including a tariff of 20% on the Philippines, 25% on Malaysia and Brunei, 32% on Indonesia, and 36% on Cambodia and Thailand. Laos and Myanmar, a country gripped by civil war, continue to face among the most severe tariffs globally, with a 40% levy.
In Thailand, if the government is unable to avert the 36% rate, GDP growth is expected to drop below 1% this year, according to analysis by the Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy.
Bangkok has pledged to reduce its $46bn trade surplus with the US by 70% within five years and eliminate the imbalance within eight years.
Officials in Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, were also reportedly shocked by the letters sent by the US, which came despite a recent pledge to increase imports from the US by $34bn.
With agencies
-
Funding & Business1 week ago
Kayak and Expedia race to build AI travel agents that turn social posts into itineraries
-
Jobs & Careers1 week ago
Mumbai-based Perplexity Alternative Has 60k+ Users Without Funding
-
Mergers & Acquisitions1 week ago
Donald Trump suggests US government review subsidies to Elon Musk’s companies
-
Funding & Business1 week ago
Rethinking Venture Capital’s Talent Pipeline
-
Jobs & Careers1 week ago
Why Agentic AI Isn’t Pure Hype (And What Skeptics Aren’t Seeing Yet)
-
Education3 days ago
9 AI Ethics Scenarios (and What School Librarians Would Do)
-
Education4 days ago
Teachers see online learning as critical for workforce readiness in 2025
-
Education1 week ago
AERDF highlights the latest PreK-12 discoveries and inventions
-
Education6 days ago
How ChatGPT is breaking higher education, explained
-
Education4 days ago
Nursery teachers to get £4,500 to work in disadvantaged areas