Mashatile says government is working on contingency plans to close the funding gap left by PEPFAR [SOUND]

# Deputy president Paul Mashatile says there is an urgent need for contingency planning and building a resilient health system that can withstand external shocks. South Africa is one of the countries affected by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief aid funding cuts. PEPFAR funding amounted to 17-percent of the country’s overall HIV response. Mashatile says government is working on contingency measures to close the gap left by the withdrawal of US foreign aid: