US funding had allowed projects to fill gaps in government provision, such as clinics where transgender people or sex workers can seek care without stigma or legal concerns, Bekker said.
Programmes with funding from the CDC have not yet been forced to shut, said Dr Kate Rees, a public health medicine specialist at the Anova Health Institute, but said it was too early to conclude that those programmes were safe.
The Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric Aids Foundation said it had received termination notices for three of its projects, which provide HIV treatment for more than 350,000 people in Lesotho, Eswatini and Tanzania.
Sweeping notices of termination of funding have been received by organisations working with HIV and Aids across Africa, with dire predictions of a huge rise in deaths as a result.
She said she had initially expected the US to target programmes working with key groups of people such as the LGBT+ community, because of the Trump administration’s attacks on diversity initiatives, “but in fact, this has been across the board.
