One year on from the shocking speed of cuts to foreign aid, also known as Official Development Assistance (ODA), the global health landscape feels more uncertain than it has for some time.
Since early 2025, we have seen major shifts in the way development assistance is funded and delivered. Governments, donors, and philanthropists are reassessing priorities and, in some cases, adapting their funding models. At the same time, multilateral institutions are under growing financial pressure. Together, these changes are reshaping the environment in which health systems operate.
Devastating aid cuts impact
At Amref Health Africa, we see the effects of this uncertainty every day. When funding becomes unpredictable, pregnant women miss out on antenatal care that can identify life‑threatening complications. People living with HIV or tuberculosis struggle to access their medication. Hard‑won progress against vaccine‑preventable diseases is put at risk. And outbreaks of infectious diseases continue to remind us that global health security cannot be taken for granted.
Recent evidence underscores why these issues matter. An independent, peer‑reviewed study published in The Lancet in 2025 highlighted the substantial contribution that long‑term development assistance has made to improving health outcomes over recent decades. The study also noted that significant reductions or disruptions to this support could have serious implications for preventable illness and mortality in the years ahead, particularly for the most vulnerable populations.
Throughout this turbulent period, Amref has carried the message of devastating community impact, and the outrage felt about these foreign aid cuts, to the world’s key decision‑making spaces; the World Health Assembly in Geneva, the United Nations General Assembly in New York and COP30 in Belém. We engaged policymakers on the importance of protecting progress in global health and investing in strong, resilient health systems.
The hope in solidarity
The picture, however, is not entirely bleak. We are also seeing new partners step forward, and existing donors and philanthropists adapt their approaches, to help ensure that hard‑won health gains are not reversed. We are finding innovative ways to deliver life‑saving care more effectively. Across Africa, countries are coming together to build equitable, sustainable, and climate‑resilient health systems and Amref Health Africa’s experience and partnerships place us well to support this work.
We remain firm in our belief that no one is safe until we are all safe. In a world facing overlapping health, climate, and economic challenges, solidarity is not optional, it is essential.
We do not know exactly what the future holds. But with people like you by our side, we are ready to face it with determination and hope.
Thank you for your continued support of our vital work.
In solidarity,
Dr Githinji Gitahi,
Group Chief Executive Officer Amref Health Africa
