The United States has pledged $160 million in temporary assistance to support HIV and tuberculosis testing and treatment in Mozambique.
- The US pledged $160 million to support HIV and TB programs in Mozambique through PEPFAR Bridge Funding.
- This aid will sustain six months of programs previously backed by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
- Mozambique faces significant health challenges, with over two million adults living with HIV.
- The funding emphasises frontline health workers and essential medical supplies but excludes certain services, raising concerns about care gaps.
The United States has pledged $160 million in temporary assistance to support HIV and tuberculosis testing and treatment in Mozambique, ending months of uncertainty following a foreign aid review that had led to the closure of USAID programs earlier this year.
The funding, described as PEPFAR Bridge Funding, will cover six months of programs previously supported by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has provided life-saving HIV treatment in 55 countries and is credited with saving 26 million lives globally.
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Running from October through March, the bridge funding is part of the State Department’s America First Global Health Strategy, which prioritises the procurement and distribution of goods from U.S. companies and seeks to reduce dependency on long-term aid, according to Bloomberg.
Health challenges in Mozambique
Mozambique, where more than 2 million adults live with HIV, has one of the highest prevalence rates in southern Africa. The U.S. has historically been the country’s largest bilateral donor, providing over $560 million annually.
The new funding package includes recommendations to prioritise frontline health workers and essential medical supplies.
However, some services, such as male circumcision, abortion, and related communication campaigns, will not be covered, raising concerns about gaps in care for communities already struggling with poverty and limited resources.
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A mathematical modelling study published in eClinicalMedicine shows the transformative impact of PEPFAR in expanding access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) across sub-Saharan Africa.
Since the program’s launch, the number of people on ART has risen from almost zero in the early 2000s to about 21 million by 2023.
This scale-up has driven a steep reduction in HIV/AIDS-related deaths, which fell from 2.2 million in 2003 to 390,000, alongside a sharp decline in new infections, from 3.2 million to 640,000 over the same period.
