The fight against HIV/Aids and TB has received a huge boost with the signing of a multibillion-rand grant from the Global Fund on Friday.

Health minister Aaron Motsoaledi was one of the signatories at the presidential guesthouse in Pretoria as South Africa received funding of more than $369m (R5bn) in helping the country fight the deadly infections. The money will be spent from April 2019 to March 2022.

It is aimed at helping South Africa fight the epidemic with a special focus on adolescent girls, young women, the LGBTI community, sex workers, men who have sex with other men, drug users and truck drivers.

Speaking on behalf of Deputy President David Mabuza, Motsoaledi expressed gratitude to the Global Fund.

“Whilst our government is the major financier of both HIV and TB programmes domestically, I wish to thank the Global Fund for its support over the years. Without our two most significant international donors – Global Fund and PEPFAR – we would not have achieved as much as we have,” said Motsoaledi.

Since inception in 2001, the Global Fund has invested more than $917m in South Africa, which has aided the country in its fight against HIV/Aids and TB.

Currently, South Africa has the world’s largest HIV treatment programme with more than 4.5m people receiving antiretroviral treatment. Government, with its social and international partners, has been able to halve the number of new infections a year, from 490,000 in 2006 to 231,000 in 2017.