Trump administration cuts to HIV programs, research, and diplomatic relations have delt a “triple blow” to South Africa that wastes years of U.S. investment and risks lives in South Africa, the United States, and around the world, according to a new report published today by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), Advocates for the Prevention of HIV in South Africa (APHA), and Emthonjeni Counselling & Training.  “Wasted Investments, Looming Crisis: The […]

South Africa is unique among the many countries impacted by the Trump administration’s actions, having experienced triple blows of cuts to HIV funding, research, and cooperative diplomatic relations.

Salim S. Abdool Karim, MD, PhD, FRS, director of the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) and PHR Advisory Council member, reflects on the wide-ranging consequences of cuts to U.S. aid by the Trump administration. As an expert in clinical diseases epidemiology, Dr. Abdool Karim warns of both the unmistakable […]

In 1998, PHR drew international attention to the human rights violations that had occurred in the health sector of apartheid South Africa. The report, “Human Rights and Health: The Legacy of Apartheid,” co-edited with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, shows how the leadership of the health sector in South Africa subordinated ethical […]

What happens when high-ranking government officials from Zimbabwe who committed crimes against humanity travel to South Africa, where the law requires the investigation and prosecution of such individuals? Nothing. That is, until now. Ten years after enacting a universal jurisdiction law allowing for the prosecution of foreign nationals accused of committing serious human rights abuses, […]

This month, PHR is examining the health workers shortage in Africa ahead of the introduction of the Global HEALTH Act, which would provide $2 billion over five years to strengthen the health workforce in developing countries.Today, we want to highlight an organization that is working right now to fill health worker vacancies in rural areas […]

Human Rights and Health was prepared at the request of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission and shows how, during the apartheid period, the leadership of the health sector in South Africa subordinated ethical and human rights obligations to the racist practices and political repression of the state. To protect and promote human rights […]