African Religious Leaders Call for a Fully Funded Global Fund
05 June 2025
African interfaith religious leaders and people affected by HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria have made an urgent appeal to governments and donor nations to commit to the Global Fund's Eighth Replenishment. This call comes amid growing challenges in global health funding, which have compounded the fight against HIV, TB and malaria across the continent.
Speaking during a World Council of Churches gathering held this May in Nairobi, Kenya, the participants, drawn from Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, Togo, Nigeria, Uganda, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Côte d'Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, called for the full funding of the Global Fund, terming it a moral and economic imperative.
“The people most burdened by HIV, TB and malaria won’t survive unless the Global Fund is fully funded. It’s the moral duty of the Church to ensure these funds and resources are made available,” said Reverend Canon Gideon Byamugisha, co-founder of the International Network of Religious Leaders Living With or Personally Affected by HIV and AIDS (INERELA+).
“We’re talking about more than just deaths here; we’re talking about needless deaths, wasted dreams and lost futures that wouldn't be so if health investment partnerships like the Global Fund were adequately supported and sufficiently replenished. Lost health is lost prosperity and development at individual and family levels, at local community and national levels and at continental and global levels,” he added.
Nelson Otwoma, the Executive Director of the National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya (NEPHAK), noted: “We are raising our voices lest the people who hold the purse strings forget our plight, and take us back to where we were 21 years ago in the fight against HIV, malaria and TB.”
In its Eighth Replenishment Investment Case, the Global Fund is appealing for at least US$18 billion for the 2027-2029 period. Reverend Jane Ng'ang'a, a Policy Advocacy Advisor with the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network, emphasized that a fully funded Global Fund was not just a moral duty to protect the vulnerable, but a frontline defense against antimicrobial resistance.
“If we do not have ARVs, TB drugs and malaria medication, it means that we will have a huge challenge. People may turn to alternative medications or those who are already on treatment, if it's disrupted, people will start defaulting and we might have a surge in antimicrobial resistance. And that means that especially the most vulnerable will suffer because of the lack of access.”
The participants issued a statement recognizing the critical role of the Global Fund. “It creates space for affected communities, promotes transparency and allows for multi-stakeholder dialogue,” read the statement, in part.
They acknowledged the need for national ownership of the fight against HIV, TB and malaria, even as they called for global solidarity. They urged their governments to review health budgets, increase domestic funding and progressively take responsibility for programs previously supported by international donors.
“Faith-based organizations are critical for the Global Fund’s success. They run hospitals in hard-to-reach areas, providing affordable services to vulnerable communities,” said Maurine Murenga, a member of the Gender Technical Committee on HIV and AIDS at the Global Fund Advocates Network Africa. “Faith leaders are also a trusted voice, able to influence and advocate for governments to honor their funding pledges and invest in domestic resources for health.”
The participants urged their governments, donor countries and the private sector to step up their commitment to the Global Fund, ensuring a successful replenishment as the only way to continue honoring the value of each life and advancing well-being for all.