South Africa: Trans Woman Went Months Without Hormones After U.S.-Funded Clinic Closed

What the report says

A Health-e report republished by AllAfrica says that Kamogelo Moamogoe, a 29-year-old transgender woman from Soweto, went months without hormone treatment after the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute’s transgender clinic closed last year following cuts to U.S. funding. According to the article, she had been collecting hormones regularly at the clinic, but when it shut she was given a short supply and a prescription to buy the medication herself, without clear direction on where to continue care.

Moamogoe said she could not afford the cost of Estrofem, which she says would total about R900 a month, and was not formally referred to another clinic or hospital. Health-e reports that she stopped treatment for several months and later tried to find care through other providers, including a community health centre, but did not succeed at first. The story places her experience in the wider disruption of specialized transgender health services after cuts to U.S.-funded programmes.

Wits RHI told Health-e that client records were transferred to local clinics and that arrangements had been made to support continuity of care. But the article says Moamogoe did not receive a direct notification about a receiving facility. In March this year, she learned she could access treatment at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, where she restarted hormones in April. She now must travel farther for care, which she says is difficult because of unemployment, transport costs and discrimination concerns.

The article says the case highlights a broader access problem for gender-affirming healthcare in South Africa, where services have been reduced or disrupted after funding changes. It also notes that health advocates have argued such treatment should be available closer to communities through primary care facilities.