China Boosts South Africa HIV Drive, Huge US Funding Gaps Remain

China will finance HIV-prevention programs in South Africa for the first time, taking a small step into the massive void left by US funding cuts earlier this year.

The agreement to provide $3.5 million over the next two years compares with the roughly $400 million in HIV/AIDS funding to South Africa cut by the Trump administration earlier this year. The country has the world’s largest HIV epidemic, with about 8 million people living with the virus that causes AIDS.

The Chinese funding comes as limiting the number of new infections has become increasingly difficult, with adolescent girls and young women ...