Cutting AIDS relief hands South Africa to Russia, China

Excerpt If the COVID-19 pandemic taught the world anything, it is that vaccines, medicines, and health systems are not merely instruments of public health — they are also powerful tools of diplomacy. Unfortunately, by scaling back support for ongoing life saving HIV programs, the Trump administration is weakening one of America’s most effective instruments of soft power — especially in South Africa. The long-term beneficiaries of this move are China and Russia, which recognize that health partnerships can translate into geopolitical influence. Over the next year, the State Department will gradually end the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in South Africa due to the country’s failure to institute policy adjustments urged by the current administration. Established in 2003, PEPFAR is the largest government investment ever dedicated to a single disease. It has allocated more than $8 billion to combat HIV/AIDS in South Africa and $100 billion globally. Dr. Ivana Stradner serves as a research fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies’ Barish Center for Media Integrity. Mark Montgomery is a retired Navy surface warfare officer who commanded a destroyer, a destroyer squadron, and a carrier strike group. He is currently a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and co-author of the book “Axis of Aggressors.“