Over 1,000 jobs for Emaswati to be restored

By Kwanele Dhladhla

The landmark lifesaving PEPFAR waiver, which has authorised continued implementation of essential HIV/AIDS services in Eswatini, will save 1,000 jobs that were lost by Emaswati when the shocking funding cut was pronounced by the USA President Donald Trump three months ago.

The jobs will be restored courtesy of the waiver, which has been approved by the US government based on the strong cordial relations that exist between the Kingdom of Eswatini and the United States of America (USA).

Emaswati will once again gain meaningful employment under the approved implementing mechanisms for transition from USAID to the Department of State. The listed implementing partners include the National Emergency Response Council of HIV/AIDS, Palladium, Jhpiego, Chemonics International, and FHI 360, together with Global Solutions Ventures.

Director of Health Services at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Velephi Okello, explained that the total number of jobs that were lost when the funding was cut was about 1,100.

However, some of the employees had been retained as communication came through from their head offices in the US that they could continue with work while negotiations were ongoing.

Minister of Health, Mduduzi Matsebula, during the debate of the 2025/2026 financial year first quarter performance report by the House of Assembly Portfolio Committee on Thursday, announced that they had received communication through a letter dated July 14, 2025 from USA Charge d’ Affaires, Caitlin Piper, affirming continued implementation of essential U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) HIV/AIDS services in Eswatini, through an approved list of implementing partners.

In the correspondence, Piper mentioned that this was a follow-up to the diplomatic note, which had been earlier sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, ably led by Minister Pholile Shakantu.

Piper outlined that priority activities, which had been approved for continuation under the lifesaving waiver, included HIV care and treatment services for all People Living with HIV (PLHIV), including Differentiated Service Delivery (DSD), Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) provision, and viral load monitoring.

Dr. Okello explained that the government spends E270 million on ART per annum, which accounts for 90 per cent of the required ART in the Kingdom, which currently has 218,000 people who were tested HIV positive.

She explained that the USA government in the past funded ART for children, second and third line, which accounted for 10 per cent of the people on ART.
However, she emphasised that Eswatini had taken a stance to cater for 100 per cent of ART due to the volatility of donor funding.

She assured Eswatini that they would continue with HIV testing services for all populations, for HIV case finding, re-entry in care, and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT).

Piper explained that they would continue with strategic information systems, including site-level reporting, data use, and quality improvement.

She pledged that the USA government would continue to provide laboratory support, including Early Infant Diagnosis (EID), viral load testing, and biosafety.

The USA Charge d’ Affaires said they would once again provide supply chain management and logistics, including support for procurement, transportation, storage, distribution, and management of the HIV commodity supply chain to ensure the timely provision of medicines and medical commodities.

He outlined that they would provide PMTCT and HIV-Exposed Infants (HET), which includes testing and re-testing pregnant and breastfeeding women, providing HIV prevention services for pregnant and breastfeeding women who are HIV negative, including Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PYEP) and HIV treatment drugs for pregnant and breastfeeding women who are positive, HIV testing for partners, early infant diagnosis tests, and comprehensive care for infants.

The USA government further committed to continuing with life-threatening activities, including TB/HIV treatment activities and cervical cancer screening.
Piper added that they would continue providing the human resources for health necessary to carry out lifesaving activities.

“These activities are deemed essential for protecting the gains of the national HIV response and ensuring uninterrupted service delivery for people living with HIV,” Piper explained.

Matsebula, on the other hand, applauded His Majesty King Mswati III and the Eswatini Government for maintaining strong relations with strategic allies such as the USA Government.
“We are pleased to announce the

continued support by the USA government and commit to ensure that the services are utilised for the utmost benefit of Emaswati,” he emphasised.


APPROVED IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS FROM USAID TO US DEPARTMENT OF STATE;