South Africa will channel R30 million from the African Renaissance Fund to Lesotho to bolster the Kingdom’s national HIV and tuberculosis response, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced at the launch of the Senqu Bridge in Mokhotlong on Tuesday, 22 April. The pledge lands as global humanitarian funding for southern Africa contracts sharply amid US aid cuts and a drought-stretched regional health budget.
The R30 million Lesotho humanitarian assistance package is drawn from the African Renaissance and International Co-operation Fund administered by Dirco.
It is earmarked for procurement support, clinic-level programmes and continuity of antiretroviral and TB treatment in mountain districts hit hardest by service gaps.
Why this matters for SA
Pretoria has framed the transfer as both a regional health imperative and a soft-power investment. Lesotho is fully encircled by South Africa and carries one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world.
A collapse in treatment coverage would likely spill across the border into Free State and KwaZulu-Natal facilities already at capacity.
Ramaphosa positioned the pledge as part of a deeper infrastructure and social partnership with Maseru, anchored by the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase II.
Where the R30 million will go
National Treasury has confirmed the grant will flow through Dirco’s African Renaissance Fund and be disbursed in tranches tied to delivery milestones.
The Lesotho Ministry of Health is expected to coordinate distribution with the Global Fund and local civil society.
The funding is explicitly short-term humanitarian relief, not a replacement for withdrawn international donors. Senior officials have signalled that any continuation beyond 2026 will depend on global funding trajectories.
The Senqu Bridge context
Ramaphosa made the announcement after officially opening the R2.4 billion Senqu Bridge, the largest of three crossings under Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.
“This project is more than infrastructure. It is more than steel and concrete. It is a symbol of a deep and enduring partnership,” he told the gathering in Mokhotlong.
He closed with a message framing the day as a continuation of a shared trajectory.
“Together, we are building bridges to the future,” Ramaphosa said.
