US Senators Vow To Extend South Africa HIV/AIDS Agreement

U.S. senators visiting South Africa to assess the efficacy of a U.S.-funded HIV/AIDS initiative have pledged to renew the program on Thursday, notwithstanding the close ties between Pretoria and Moscow.

"You do joint naval exercises with Russia and China on the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, you gonna have problems," Senator Lindsey Graham told a media conference in Johannesburg, as reported by News24.

The U.S., South Africa's opposition parties, and the European Union have all voiced their disapproval of the naval exercises, which are taking place from Feb.17 to Feb. 27, and also feature China.

The senator nonetheless pledged to get the funds renewed. "I think it would be stupid for us in the U.S. to terminate this program," he said.

Elton John, a 75-year-old legendary British musician, alongside a group of U.S. senators, visited South Africa to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief or PEPFAR.

George W. Bush, the elected president of the United States at the time, formed PEPFAR in February 2003 to fight the spread of AIDS in some of the most severely affected regions of Africa and the Caribbean.

South Africa has the highest HIV infection rate on Earth, with more than 8.2 million people infected, among whom more than 5.4 million are on antiretroviral medications.

Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives is actively considering a resolution opposing South Africa's ongoing military drills with Russia and China and pushing the Biden administration to conduct a thorough review of America's ties with South Africa, Daily Maverick reported.

Resolution 145, drafted by moderate Republicans, is currently the most overt indication of America's growing dissatisfaction with Pretoria's growing ties with Moscow and Beijing.

Resolution HR145 demands that the Biden administration give Congress a thorough breakdown of the economic advantages that South Africa gains from being a part of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) and the 2012 trade and investment agreement between the United States and South Africa.

Most South African exports to the U.S. are now duty- and quota-free thanks to Agoa, which has greatly benefited the country's exporters, particularly those of fruit and automobiles.

It appears that Congress is investigating the prospect of depriving SA of these benefits due to its expanding links with Russia and China based on the directive to the government to assess the benefits of Agoa.