[Think Global Health] Securing Sustainable Funding for Civil Society Organizations

17 June 2026

Think Global Health analysis

According to a new analysis from KFF, 29 countries with signed bilateral agreements with the United States face a 24% drop in health funding from the United States and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) through 2029.

These cuts threaten the local civil society organizations (CSOs) delivering critical HIV and TB services — including nongovernmental organizations, faith-based groups, and community-based providers — that still depend almost entirely on international donors. International aid accounts for 80% of all funding for HIV prevention programs in low- or middle-income countries (LMICs), the majority channeled through CSOs. Research finds that CSOs are not an optional component of national HIV and TB programs: They are their backbone.

As donor funding shifts toward greater country ownership, the United States and the Global Fund need to plan for CSO continuity and growth, including to incentivize national governments to sign contracts and fund CSOs for the services they deliver so effectively. LMIC governments also need to channel their domestic financing to CSOs.

Two questions will help determine whether decades of progress against HIV and TB survive or unravel as the United States and the Global Fund reshape how they deliver global health assistance: What will happen to the CSOs that deliver essential services on the frontlines? How will funding for CSOs transition from donors to LMIC governments?

Read the full analysis here.

 

Source: Think Global Health