By Palesa Matlala
- Over 1,000 vulnerable children might lose support as US funding cuts threaten to close Soweto AIDS support centre.
- Three HIV-positive siblings who finally agreed to start treatment now face uncertainty as their trusted caregivers might disappear.
Three HIV-positive children in Soweto might lose their chance to start life-saving treatment because the organisation caring for them is running out of money.
The Mtshali* children were about to start antiretroviral treatment when US President Donald Trump froze global foreign aid.
Their older sister Nomsa Mtshali*, 20, is watching helplessly as the Ikageng Itireleng Aids Ministry in Orlando West struggles to keep its doors open.
The centre supports more than 1,000 orphaned and vulnerable children in Soweto.
“I am the only sibling who doesn’t have HIV. The rest of them were infected by my mother because she refused to take the mother to child prevention treatment,” Nomsa told Scrolla.Africa.
“There was a time when she was very sick to a point we thought that she was going to die but she continued to have unprotected sex with our father leading to my siblings contracting the virus.”
After both parents died, the children became a youth-headed household, depending on neighbours in their Soweto informal settlement. With no relatives in Gauteng, even the kind neighbours couldn’t afford to help them financially.
A concerned neighbour took them to Ikageng, where a social worker helped them get birth certificates, Sassa grants, and school places. The organisation also provided monthly food parcels.
While the children’s basic needs were being met, they struggled to accept their HIV status. But thanks to support from social workers at the centre, they finally agreed to start treatment.
“Because the siblings have been in our care for years, we were making progress in getting them started with treatment but then the USAID funding was halted and it’s going to be four times harder to convince them to start with another healthcare provider at the clinic because they don’t trust anyone else,” said the social worker.
The centre’s staff usually escort children to collect medication, provide counselling, and run support groups. But this vital support is now at risk.
Bhekinkosi Khumalo, Program Director of Ikageng Itireleng Aids Ministry, said the sudden funding freeze has hit hard.
“Eleven of our employees are directly affected with one solely depending on the funding. The main USAID programmes which include preventing vulnerable populations are now in jeopardy. Families now face uncertainty regarding access to education, food and medical assistance,” he said.
The organisation is desperately seeking donations and planning fundraising campaigns.
A court order has given them a three-month lifeline, ruling that Pepfar-funded services must continue with some restrictions. But after 90 days, Ikageng and other South African NPOs will learn if their funding will continue.
Pictured above: Ikageng Itireleng Aids Ministry.
Image source: Ikageng Itireleng Aids Ministry/Facebook
