Donor Nation Cuts Impact Global Health Funding
- donor nations have jeopardized global health by pledging only US$11.85 billion for the 2026-2028 period to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,Tuberculosis and Malaria,falling short of the urgently...
- "People will die because of donor nations' decisions to cut pledges to the Global Fund," said julia Bleckner,senior health researcher at Human Rights Watch.
- The Global Fund is a critical source of international financing, providing nearly two-thirds of all funding for tuberculosis programs, over half for malaria programs, and more than a...
Global Fund faces Critical Funding Shortfall, Threatening Millions of Lives
donor nations have jeopardized global health by pledging only US$11.85 billion for the 2026-2028 period to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,Tuberculosis and Malaria,falling short of the urgently needed US$18 billion,Human Rights Watch reported today. All but one of the ten leading donor countries reduced their financial commitments.
“People will die because of donor nations’ decisions to cut pledges to the Global Fund,” said julia Bleckner,senior health researcher at Human Rights Watch. ”Donor nations should immediately step up and close this funding gap.”
The Global Fund is a critical source of international financing, providing nearly two-thirds of all funding for tuberculosis programs, over half for malaria programs, and more than a quarter for HIV programs. As its inception in 2002, the Global Fund estimates it has saved 70 million lives. In 2024 alone, the organization reported treating 25.6 million people with HIV and 7.4 million with tuberculosis.
Human Rights Watch conducted interviews with 47 individuals – including nongovernmental organization workers, health care outreach workers, and aid recipients – in Indonesia, laos, and Nepal. These interviews revealed that funding cuts in 2025 are already having a devastating impact, especially on marginalized groups facing systemic discrimination and barriers to healthcare. These groups include men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers, and people who use drugs.
These populations, at the highest risk of HIV/AIDS transmission and illness, often rely on community-based programs supported by the Global Fund as their only access to vital healthcare services.