Nairobi – As global funding for health falters, faith leaders and activists are urging governments not to abandon the fight against HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria.
Meeting in Nairobi on Thursday, members of the World Council of Churches and representatives of communities living with these diseases made a direct appeal: support the Global Fund, or risk losing hard-won progress.
The call comes amid a major funding crunch. The Global Fund’s latest appeal its Eighth Replenishment Investment Case seeks at least $18 billion for the 2026–2028 period. But donor support is weakening. Earlier this year, a freeze on US foreign aid, signed by former President Donald Trump before leaving office, sent shockwaves through health programmes across the continent.
“Governments cannot sit back and hope someone else will fill the gap,” said Nelson Otwoma, Executive Director of the National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya (NEPHAK). “Kenya, for instance, committed just $10,000 to the Global Fund. We’re still waiting for that to be honoured.”
For those on the front lines, the stakes are high.
Shortages and Stigma
Otwoma warned that antiretroviral (ARV) stockpiles in Kenya could run out by September unless swift action is taken. Health workers have already started rationing the drugs, giving patients shorter prescriptions than usual.

“There’s no need to panic yet,” he said, pointing to the recently opened ARV manufacturing plant in Kiambu. “The government has time to act if it acts now.”
Canon Professor Gideon Byamugisha, a Ugandan Anglican priest and co-founder of the International Network of Religious Leaders Living with HIV, has lived openly with the virus since 1992. He was the first clergy member in Africa to publicly declare his status.
“The biggest stigma is the idea that HIV is tied to sin,” he said. “People look at me and say, ‘He’s a priest what did he do wrong?’ That shame keeps people from getting tested.”
His organisation, which now includes 42,000 members across 16 African networks, works to dismantle stigma through dialogue and pastoral support. Byamugisha believes faith communities must lead the charge.
“HIV is not just a health issue. It’s social, economic, spiritual. And cross-border. We need governments and communities working together,” he said.
Lost Momentum
The Global Fund, launched in 2002, has helped save an estimated 59 million lives. It remains one of the largest multilateral financiers in global health, backing prevention, treatment, and research. But some programmes have already slowed or stopped due to funding gaps.
For example, research into preventive HIV drugs like PrEP has been paused in parts of Africa. Campaigners fear the momentum built over decades could slip away if funding dries up.
At Thursday’s meeting, leaders called on governments to not only meet their Global Fund commitments but to increase domestic health spending. The message was clear: Africa must begin to shoulder more of the responsibility once carried by foreign donors.
“There’s a lot of talk about sovereignty and self-reliance,” said Otwoma. “But where is that when it comes to health budgets? If we don’t act now, we’ll have no one to blame but ourselves.”
Canon Byamugisha echoed that point, urging both state and religious leaders to “replace miscommunication with compassion” and ensure that “those who need love most, get it first.”
As the world looks ahead to 2030, the year global leaders pledged to end AIDS as a public health threat, the road is becoming steeper. Whether that promise holds may now depend on whether pledges made in boardrooms translate into action in clinics, churches and parliaments.