Sat Apr 05 06:01:18 UTC 2025: ## Pretoria Fights Growing Drug Crisis Amidst Global Aid Cuts
**Pretoria, South Africa – April 5, 2025** – A community-based needle exchange program in Pretoria is battling a growing drug crisis exacerbated by cuts to global aid. The program, a collaboration between the University of Pretoria and the Tshwane municipality, provides clean needles and opioid substitution therapy to drug users in an effort to curb the spread of HIV and other infectious diseases.
The initiative comes as a University of Pretoria report estimates 84,000 people in South Africa inject drugs, with a staggering 38% HIV prevalence among injecting drug users in Pretoria alone. The report further highlights a booming drug market valued at approximately $3.5 billion, fueled by cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.
The program’s success, however, is threatened by the ripple effects of reduced funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), following decisions made by the Trump administration. This funding decrease has resulted in the closure of at least one local health clinic in Pretoria, increasing pressure on already strained government facilities.
Project leader Likwa Ncube described the challenges of helping addicts through withdrawal while combating misconceptions that the needle exchange program enables drug use. Dipolelo Lekota, a 30-year-old participant, testified to the program’s effectiveness in accessing HIV medication and clean needles.
The shrinking resources highlight the urgent need for continued funding and support for harm reduction programs in South Africa, a nation grappling with a high HIV prevalence rate of over 12%. The Pretoria project serves as a microcosm of the wider struggle to address the complex intersection of drug addiction, infectious diseases, and the impact of global policy changes on local health initiatives.
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