On Monday, Gauteng-based health worker *Mary woke up to an unprecedented notice from the HIV/Aids organisation where she works – she and her colleagues were not allowed to come in to perform their duties.
She couldn’t even provide telephonic support to patients with appointments that day or the state-employed health workers who would be tackling her workload. This would be considered as work, she was told.
Mary is one of many health workers affected by the “stop work orders” issued to various organisations and programmes receiving funding from the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar). Their work has been brought to a screeching halt as a result of US President Donald Trump’s executive order – signed on Monday, 20 January – suspending all foreign development assistance for 90 days, pending a review to determine whether they are “fully aligned” with US foreign policy.
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