​Thembisa Shologu
Minister for Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has told South Africans that the time has now arrived to start dreaming about a future with the scourge of HIV/AIDS gone from our country.
Minister Motsoaledi made this pronouncement during the UNAIDS Global Aids Update Report Launch at the Bertha Gxowa Hospital in Ekurhuleni on Thursday,10 July 2025. 
The report revealed that in the past 10 years the sub-Saharan Africa has been able to reduce the new number of infections by 40% and AIDS related deaths by 56%. 
The report shows that at the end of 2024 before the collapse in funding triggered a crisis in the global AIDS response.
"We have come too far to turn back in the battle against AIDS. We wish to warn that South Africans must not get used to us living side by side with certain diseases like HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria and even some cancers as if it is our predetermined destiny.
 
"The time has now arrived to start dreaming about a future with certain diseases gone from our country. It is within our reach," said Dr Motsoaledi. 
Motsoaledi said South Africa is the mostly affected country in the world.
He said he was proud of the strides made in the increase in life expectancy and the massive decrease in maternal mortality.
He added maternal mortality wasn't just about numbers, deaths, but also the development of a country because no country can develop with a high mortality rate.
"We have already started this journey of eliminating HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. On the scale of 95-95-95 we are now at 96-79-94 towards achieving this goal. 
"To get 95% of HIV positive people on ARVs we must reach 1,1 million people. On 25 February 2025, we launched a project to look for these 1,1 million people who are known to be HIV positive but are not on ARVs. We are making substantial progress," said Motsoaledi. 
UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima said the sudden withdrawal of the single biggest contributor to the global HIV response disrupted treatment and prevention programmes around the world in early 2025.
Byanyima said the consensus behind the old model of financing the HIV response may be coming to an end, but the international community was forging a new, more sustainable path.
"We found thatof the 60 countries, 25 were talking about or planning reallocations. We also see more cost-effective ways of delivering services as governments integrate HIV into the mainstream of health service delivery.
"The HIV response has already saved 26.9 million lives. With an HIV prevention revolution, we could end AIDS as a public health threat, saving many more lives. 
"And it could be better value for money too: UNAIDS estimates that if the world embraces new technologies, efficiencies and approaches, the annual cost of the HIV response could fall by around US$ 7 billion," said Byanyima.
MEC for Health and Wellness, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko said Gauteng carried a big part of the HIV burden but also has the power to lead. 
She added that she was proud to have achieved 94% of people knowing their status, with 83% on treatment, and 93% virally suppressed. But we know the second 95 remains our biggest challenge, especially for young people and men in particular.
"Despite funding cuts that forced some NGOs to either scale down on their work or close, we continue to work with civil society, including the Gauteng AIDS Council, to keep the momentum strong. 
"As a province we are among the first to launch the 1.1 million ART Gap Campaign where we aim to put over 326,000 people on treatment. We are taking this campaign to universities, townships, informal settlements, and hostels," said Nkomo-Ralehoko.