CNN Visits Closed Transgender Clinic in Johannesburg After USAID Funding Cut
The opening of the transgender clinic. (Wits RHI)
Mathipa Phishego
The CNN publication visited the transgender-health clinic in South Africa. However, the clinic have been forced to shut down from January 2025. Its specialised services were quickly shut, because the United States abruptly terminated funding through USAID.
The clinic had left nearly 2,000 patients without vital care. Wits University confirmed that its Hillbrow-based transgender programme. One of the country’s few dedicated providers of hormone-replacement therapy, psychosocial support and gender-affirming healthcare was issued a sudden stop-work.
It was also order-tied to sweeping aid cuts implemented by the U.S President Donald Trump’s administration. The instruction required all USAID-funded activities to cease immediately, resulting in the clinic suspending appointments.
Cancelling consultations and notifying patients via SMS to urgently collect remaining medications before doors closed. According to health-sector organisations briefed on the matter. USAID informed South African partners that certain grants were not aligned with Agency priorities.
All happening under the new administration. Updated funding rules reportedly exclude support for programmes that fall under what the U.S. “terms gender” or “DEI ideology.”
A category into which LGBTQ-focused health services appear to fall. The funding freeze forms part of a broader restructuring of U.S. Global health spending that has also disrupted HIV initiatives for sex workers, LGBTQ+ groups and other key populations.
The shutdown affected an estimated 1,800 transgender patients and at least two dozen staff. Many of whom now face uncertainty over their employment.
The community served by the Hillbrow programme, the clinic provided one of the few accessible and non-discriminatory avenues for hormone therapy in the country. Advocacy organisations say the termination has created an immediate medical risk for clients, dependent on consistent hormone supplies and HIV treatment.
Some patients were forced to travel long distances on short notice to secure what medication they could before the clinic locked up. South Africa has been heavily reliant on U.S. global health funding for decades, particularly for HIV programmes.
The latest cuts have already resulted in the shutdown of outreach services, retrenchment of healthcare workers and disruptions to treatment adherence across multiple provinces.
Transgender civil-society groups urged the South African government to intervene. Warning that vulnerable communities especially transgender people will suffer disproportionate harm. Unfortunately, U.S was and is not ready to fix its relationship with South Africa.