Motsoaledi: NIH funding cuts ‘major setback’ for SA
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says the cancellation of the National Institutes of Health funding is a major setback for South Africa.
Over R4.5-billion-rand in US-funded HIV and TB research grants were terminated over the weekend.
Experts estimate NIH funds 70% of South Africa's medical research.
The move could lead to job losses and halted clinical trials.
Speaking on the sidelines of a World TB Day event in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday, the minister warned of serious impacts on healthcare and scientific progress.
“In the field of research, it’s definitely the area where the pipeline will start drying up. Research that has been done in South Africa is not only benefiting South Africa,” Motsoaledi said.
“It’s also going to affect the US. If there is no research, there will be no new pipeline about the production of original drugs.”
News24 reported that cancellation letters, which end billions of rands of South African universities’ US-government-funded HIV and TB research grants with immediate effect, started to roll in over the weekend.
South Africa has already been subject to broad funding cuts from the United States Agency for International Development, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
