Princess Chitsuro has transformed her life. Born with HIV, she only learnt her status as a young adult. Overcome with shock and fear, she initially distanced herself from everyone – friends, community, even her future. But denial only lasts so long.
When she became pregnant, Chitsuro was unaware she could prevent transmitting HIV to her unborn child. She learnt that she could after joining a mentorship programme for young mothers.
There, she found peers – women who had walked the same path, who offered her guidance, compassion, and care. Thankfully, her baby does not have HIV.
There are thousands of stories like Chitsuro’s in East and Southern Africa, thanks to family planning, reproductive health and HIV funding in the region. In 2024 alone, these services and commodities helped avert some 9.49-million unintended pregnancies, 3.38-million abortions, 19,150 maternal deaths, and 2.6-million HIV infections in children across the region, according to data from UNFPA.
Namibia and Botswana, for example, recently received bronze and silver tier certifications for being on the path to eliminating vertical transmission of HIV from a mother to her child. But the endings to these stories are under threat with the funding shortfall crisis after reductions in foreign development and humanitarian assistance across Africa and it is women and girls who will suffer the most.
Analysis from 2gether 4 SRHR, the joint UN regional programme, indicates that funding cuts will have a big impact on health equity; increase the barriers for vulnerable populations to access services; reverse the progress made in the HIV response; impact on early and unintended pregnancies; weaken health systems; and challenge the collection of data that enables stakeholders to monitor impact, improve programming, identify gaps, and hold governments accountable.
According to UNAids projections, if funding is not available to fill in the gap left by Pepfar funding cuts we can expect to see, globally, a 400% increase in Aids-related deaths, 8.7-million new HIV adult infections, an additional 3.4-million orphans made vulnerable by HIV, and 350,000 new HIV infections in children by 2029.
Our region will bear witness to 75% of these deaths and new infections.
Put simply, funding cuts will roll back the hard-earned health and development gains in East and Southern Africa and put governments at risk of achieving the targets of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Despite shifting priorities and shrinking budgets, investing in sexual and reproductive health and rights is the right thing to do – benefiting the individual, community and society as a whole.
New data indicates that in SA, the lifetime cost of failing to invest in sexual and reproductive health and rights is $33.7bn (R664bn), equating to 8% of the nation’s annual GDP – exceeding the country’s annual health and education budgets combined. Conversely, universal access to contraception is cited as having one of the highest returns on investments among the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.
In Kenya, every shilling invested in scaling up family planning services yields a return of 22 shillings in productivity returns in a five-year time frame.
Investing in sexual and reproductive health and rights transforms a woman’s life. Through improved maternal health, increased access to contraception and HIV services, and reduced gender-based violence, women can participate in the workforce and society, representing an investment for the future.
For example, Chitsuro is now paying it forward as a young mentor mother, helping pregnant or breastfeeding women to access the support she once received. This holistic approach is key. “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures.”
As we mark this year’s World Health Day, now is the time to increase new investments in sexual and reproductive health and work strategically with national governments to do so.
The 2gether 4 SRHR is working across the region to support governments to unlock investments and financial opportunities for sexual and reproductive health and rights, determining alternative options for sustainable financing. The programme is working with regional economic communities such as the Sadcouthern African Development Community and East African Community to convene national dialogues with governments to increase domestic financing for health.
On World Health Day, let us scale-up our partnerships and collaborations with governments, donors, civil society and others, so every woman in our region, such as Chitsuro and her baby, can survive and thrive.
- Githuku-Shongwe is Eastern Africa regional director of UNAids and Zigomo is Southern Africa regional director of UNFPA
OPINION | Funding cuts put women, children's health under threat
Image: 123RF.COM/PENCHAN PUMILA
Princess Chitsuro has transformed her life. Born with HIV, she only learnt her status as a young adult. Overcome with shock and fear, she initially distanced herself from everyone – friends, community, even her future. But denial only lasts so long.
When she became pregnant, Chitsuro was unaware she could prevent transmitting HIV to her unborn child. She learnt that she could after joining a mentorship programme for young mothers.
There, she found peers – women who had walked the same path, who offered her guidance, compassion, and care. Thankfully, her baby does not have HIV.
There are thousands of stories like Chitsuro’s in East and Southern Africa, thanks to family planning, reproductive health and HIV funding in the region. In 2024 alone, these services and commodities helped avert some 9.49-million unintended pregnancies, 3.38-million abortions, 19,150 maternal deaths, and 2.6-million HIV infections in children across the region, according to data from UNFPA.
Namibia and Botswana, for example, recently received bronze and silver tier certifications for being on the path to eliminating vertical transmission of HIV from a mother to her child. But the endings to these stories are under threat with the funding shortfall crisis after reductions in foreign development and humanitarian assistance across Africa and it is women and girls who will suffer the most.
Analysis from 2gether 4 SRHR, the joint UN regional programme, indicates that funding cuts will have a big impact on health equity; increase the barriers for vulnerable populations to access services; reverse the progress made in the HIV response; impact on early and unintended pregnancies; weaken health systems; and challenge the collection of data that enables stakeholders to monitor impact, improve programming, identify gaps, and hold governments accountable.
According to UNAids projections, if funding is not available to fill in the gap left by Pepfar funding cuts we can expect to see, globally, a 400% increase in Aids-related deaths, 8.7-million new HIV adult infections, an additional 3.4-million orphans made vulnerable by HIV, and 350,000 new HIV infections in children by 2029.
Our region will bear witness to 75% of these deaths and new infections.
Put simply, funding cuts will roll back the hard-earned health and development gains in East and Southern Africa and put governments at risk of achieving the targets of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Despite shifting priorities and shrinking budgets, investing in sexual and reproductive health and rights is the right thing to do – benefiting the individual, community and society as a whole.
New data indicates that in SA, the lifetime cost of failing to invest in sexual and reproductive health and rights is $33.7bn (R664bn), equating to 8% of the nation’s annual GDP – exceeding the country’s annual health and education budgets combined. Conversely, universal access to contraception is cited as having one of the highest returns on investments among the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.
In Kenya, every shilling invested in scaling up family planning services yields a return of 22 shillings in productivity returns in a five-year time frame.
Investing in sexual and reproductive health and rights transforms a woman’s life. Through improved maternal health, increased access to contraception and HIV services, and reduced gender-based violence, women can participate in the workforce and society, representing an investment for the future.
For example, Chitsuro is now paying it forward as a young mentor mother, helping pregnant or breastfeeding women to access the support she once received. This holistic approach is key. “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures.”
As we mark this year’s World Health Day, now is the time to increase new investments in sexual and reproductive health and work strategically with national governments to do so.
The 2gether 4 SRHR is working across the region to support governments to unlock investments and financial opportunities for sexual and reproductive health and rights, determining alternative options for sustainable financing. The programme is working with regional economic communities such as the Sadcouthern African Development Community and East African Community to convene national dialogues with governments to increase domestic financing for health.
On World Health Day, let us scale-up our partnerships and collaborations with governments, donors, civil society and others, so every woman in our region, such as Chitsuro and her baby, can survive and thrive.
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