A social worker for a South African clinic serving the LGBTQI+ community said of the U.S. aid cuts: “Seeing people losing their jobs, and then seeing our clients not knowing what will happen to them, was painful. It was heartbreaking, honestly, because for so long, we’d worked to create a sense of hope.”

Date: 2/26

Region: Africa

Country: South Africa

Topic: Health, Gender Equality & Inclusion

Policy Lens: Global Health Security

Entry Type: Field Observation

Additional Context: This quote is attributed to Hulisani Mudzanani, one of OUT LGBT Well-Being’s few remaining social workers. OUT is one of South Africa's oldest queer-friendly clinics, and one that’s specifically focused on men who have sex with men. Last January, the United States’ cuts to foreign aid forced OUT to shutter its services for 10,000 clients — and over the last year, some of South Africa’s most at-risk HIV patients were left in the dark.

Of the nine staff members remaining at the clinic, most have been focused on routing former patients into alternative care. But with nonprofit services strained and shuttered, that’s meant more people have been pushed to government facilities — settings that often lack the training, sensitivity, or ability to serve OUT’s target population.

Source: Devex