HIV and TB Lifeline Falls Silent as National Healthcare Worker Hotline Runs Out of Funding

South Africa’s National HIV & TB Healthcare Worker Hotline has been suspended after funding ran out, ending a specialist support service that had helped doctors, nurses and pharmacists manage complex HIV and tuberculosis cases for nearly two decades. Operated by the University of Cape Town’s Medicines Information Centre since 2008, the hotline provided free, evidence-based advice on treatment regimens, medicine interactions, side effects, paediatric dosing and difficult clinical cases, including support for healthcare workers in remote and under-resourced facilities. Over its lifetime, the service responded to more than 86,000 clinical queries, making it an important source of rapid expert guidance in a country with a high burden of HIV and TB. Funding linked to the Global Fund ended in 2025, and temporary arrangements could no longer sustain the service, leading to the suspension of its telephone and WhatsApp support from 15 September 2026. The associated app will remain available, but new clinical support, training and educational activities have been placed on hold. Health professionals have raised concern that the loss of immediate specialist advice could place additional pressure on frontline workers managing increasingly complex treatment decisions, particularly in clinics where specialist expertise is not easily accessible.