South Africa appears to be at a crossroads in its waxing and waning relationship with the US following President Donald Trump's controversial decision last week to cut financial aid to the country.Trump said South Africa was pursuing what he called "unjust and immoral practices" against the white minority Afrikaner community and by filing a genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December 2023.

The U.S. gave it more than $6.5 billion in humanitarian assistance last year for wide-ranging projects like disease response, girls’ education and free school lunches.

The US said a waiver on halting some activities in South Africa under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, will focus on “life-saving” treatments.