PEPFAR ceases ARV financing for refugees

PEPFAR is an initiative started in 2013 by the then US president, George Bush. It is president’s emergency plan that was designed to address the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and help save the lives of those suffering from the disease, primarily in Africa. The programme has provided antiretroviral treatment (ART) to over 7.7 million HIV-infected people in resource-limited settings and supported HIV testing and counseling for more than 56.7 million people as of 2014.

Yesterday, the ministry’s permanent secretary, Segakweng Tsiane confirmed before the Public Accounts Committee that as of March 2019, PEPFAR would no longer provide finance for the treatment of refugees, leaving the ministry in limbo.