The South African government admits it is facing difficulties in the fight against HIV following the withdrawal of some 427 million dollars in US support. 

According to African News, South Africa has more people living with HIV than any other country in the world and experts warn that the next few years could see hundreds of thousands of new infections.

When US President Donald Trump cut the US foreign aid budget, the impact was immediate, with free clinics closing their doors, leaving patients without medicine.

Some patients, interviewed by the South African press, say they have been turned away from public hospitals, although the authorities insist that this should not happen.

Others say they have been forced to buy HIV medication on the black market, where the pills cost almost twice as much.