Global health update: Jan. 15, 2026

Ending HIV/AIDS is within reach, and doing so will require having the United States approach global health investments and bilateral partnerships as strategic, long-term investments. Recent analysis shows that while new pledges, including $11.34 billion raised by the Global Fund, illustrate continued global commitment, it will be critical to maintain proper levels of funding to stay on track to end the public health threat of HIV/AIDS by 2030.

Through bilateral health agreements, a number of which are approved or under discussion, the U.S. Department of State can shape a better model for global health cooperation with more predictability, accountability, and shared responsibility. But to ensure success, the United States must fill vacant positions at the ambassador level on the African continent and at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau for Global Health Security and Diplomacy (GHSD), including the office of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. With clearly communicated and enforceable benchmarks for country ownership, U.S. leadership can protect hard-won public health gains and ensure that the goal of ending AIDS remains within reach.

Figure of the Week

Approximately $10 billion in new U.S. global health investments

The U.S. closed out 2025 by committing approximately $10 billion for global health investments through a series of bilateral health agreements signed under the America First Global Health Strategy.

Multi-year agreements with Kenya, Rwanda, Liberia, Lesotho, Uganda, Eswatini, Mozambique, Côte d’Ivoire, Botswana, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Cameroon focus on strengthening disease surveillance, health workforces, laboratory networks, and data systems while safeguarding against cross-border infectious disease threats. Individual partner governments have also committed billions in financing, reinforcing a shared responsibility model for sustaining health gains.

Early analysis from the Center for Global Development highlights encouraging signs in the new agreements’ emphasis on country ownership, co-financing, and continuity with long-standing global health priorities. If paired with clear accountability, strong data systems, and thoughtful transition planning, these agreements offer an opportunity to strengthen government-to-government partnerships, sustain essential services, and build more resilient health systems capable of protecting both global and U.S. health security.

For additional context on the global health financing landscape, you can view KFF’s interactive tracker of U.S. country-level funding, including congressionally appropriated funding amounts from FY2006-FY2023 and obligations and disbursements from FY2006-FY2025.

Ally Updates

Last month, UNAIDS adopted a new Global AIDS Strategy for 2026–2031, “United to End AIDS,” at its 57th Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) meeting. Additionally, the organization established a PCB Working Group tasked with developing a plan and timeline for UNAIDS’s integration within the wider U.N. system, with an interim report due in June 2026 and final recommendations expected later in the year.

Leaders emphasized that while funding and priority shifts are underway, the global HIV response remains essential, particularly as service disruptions and financing gaps threaten recent progress. Board members and civil society representatives stressed the need for a deliberate, inclusive transition that safeguards core functions, sustains community engagement, and protects hard-won gains. The new strategy and transition process will inform global HIV priorities ahead of the 2026 U.N. High-Level Meeting on AIDS.

Bush Institute Insights

Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau has joined the Bush Institute as the Bradford M. Freeman managing director of global policy. In this role, Trudeau will leverage her decades of experience as a senior member of the United States Foreign Service and her significant knowledge of international relations, diplomacy, and strategic communications to lead the development of the Bush Institute’s global policy portfolio.

“The values of President and Mrs. Bush represent the best of the American spirit here at home and abroad,” Trudeau said. “I look forward to joining the Bush Institute and contributing to the important work of advancing free societies around the world.”

In the news

• A recent Devex article highlights how disrupted health financing has strained Kenya’s HIV and mental health care. Health workers are experiencing months of unpaid or irregular wages while delivering essential HIV and mental health services. While the U.S. and Kenya have signed a new bilateral health agreement aimed at shifting greater responsibility to the Kenyan government, implementation delays and legal challenges have slowed its impact on frontline care. ”If there are no community health workers to connect people to the clinic, then they won’t be able to get the resources,” says Thomas McHale, director of public health at Physicians for Human Rights.

• Despite challenges posed to the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), many local health workers in Cameroon continued to deliver care without pay to help avert the worst outcomes during peak malaria season and protect gains made over the past decade, reports The New York Times. From 2017 to 2024, PMI reduced malaria deaths in northern Cameroon by nearly 60% through community-based prevention, reliable drug supply chains, and a trained frontline workforce. A new U.S.–Cameroon health compact now offers a potential path forward, emphasizing greater domestic investment and country ownership.

• Brazil has eliminated mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT) of HIV, as validated by the World Health Organization. The country reduced vertical HIV transmission to below 2% and achieved over 95% coverage of prenatal care, routine HIV testing, and timely treatment for pregnant women. This milestone reflects sustained investment in universal health coverage, quality care services, and robust data systems. Brazil joins 18 other countries worldwide that have been validated for EMTCT.

• With the changing global health landscape, African governments are presented with an opportunity to take ownership of the continent’s health system, says Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention head Dr. Jean Kaseya. Dr. Kaseya notes that reduced foreign investments have already compromised outbreak response and increased out-of-pocket costs for patients. To sustain progress, Dr. Kaseya urges governments to tackle corruption, improve tax collection to finance domestic health systems, invest in domestic manufacturing of medical supplies, and recalibrate global health partnerships in ways that reinforce country-led systems and long-term resilience against future health threats.

• The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has selected Ecuador, Bolivia, and Guatemala for new partnerships. Ecuador is eligible to develop a compact. Bolivia and Guatemala were selected to develop smaller grant (“threshold”) programs that support policy and institutional reforms. The selections reflect MCC’s emphasis on results-driven investments, private sector–led growth, and stronger partnerships in the Western Hemisphere.

• African Christian leaders recently convened to call for new, sustainable approaches to health financing to maintain HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria services across the continent. Faith-based networks, which operate more than 14,000 health facilities and deliver up to 70% of care in some countries, emphasized their critical role in sustaining treatment access, supporting health workers, and maintaining community trust. Amid the evolving financing landscape, leaders underscored the opportunity to strengthen domestic financing, integrate faith-based providers into national health strategies, and build more resilient local health systems.