# Universities South Africa has reportedly requested two-billion-rand from the National Treasury to help the University of Cape Town, University of the Witwatersrand, University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Stellenbosch University. These institutions had their research grants frozen by the US. Wits alone had 18 projects worth 230-million-rand falling under the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, and the US Agency for International Development terminated. Universities South Africa, an umbrella body representing 26 public universities, says there is an urgent need to reconsider foreign dependency and promote self-sufficiency in funding.
Universities SA requests R2-billion to help institutions affected by the US research funding freeze