Munya Mandipaza – Executive Director
The world is closer to ending AIDS as a public health threat, yet that progress is at dire risk of being lost amid converging crises, widespread volatility and deepening inequalities. The landscape of the HIV response has changed dramatically, marked by shifts in health and HIV-specific funding and the overall aid architecture, mounting fiscal pressures, and a backlash against human rights. The emergence of innovations and technologies offer exciting new opportunities to end AIDS, but only if political will and sustainable investment are maintained. Investments must be made in HIV prevention, treatment and community leadership. Shifts to country ownership must be supported responsibly
and responses must be based on evidence, human rights and be people focused, leaving no one behind.
A deadly Ebola outbreak is tearing through the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Cases have already been reported in Uganda, and neighbouring countries are at high risk. With no approved vaccines or treatments for this specific strain, families living in extreme poverty are facing a terrifying reality. Containing the spread of this virus is incredibly difficult but our Religious Leaders are spreading life-saving medical advice, offering prevention support to stop more lives being lost and promoting healthy hygiene habits within their communities.
The conflict that erupted in late February 2026 has driven up energy and food costs due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — a key shipping route for about a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil and liquefied natural gas, and a significant portion of crop nutrients.
At the World Health Regional Summit in Nairobi, we saw the launch of the Africa CDC’s High Level Ministerial Committee on the Global Health Architecture Reform where ministers called for the centering of Women’s, Children’s, and Adolescents’ Health (WCAH) in the reform conversations. Closing the gap in women’s health alone could add at least $1 trillion to the global economy every year by 2040. Every dollar invested in childhood vaccination or adolescent mental health returns about $20 over a lifetime – in healthcare savings, in productivity, in lives that go on to build something. Healthy women anchor families and economies. Healthy children grow into workers and citizens. Healthy children and adolescents are better equipped to participate in society, build livelihoods and shape more stable, prosperous futures. Yet health systems around the world are being pushed to breaking point by aid cuts, debt, conflict and shrinking fiscal space. In 2025, official development assistance fell by 23 percent – the largest annual drop in history. In more than 50 countries, health workers are losing their jobs and training pipelines are breaking down. In some places, maternal care, vaccination and emergency response have been cut by 70 percent. At the same time, sexual and reproductive health rights are under intensifying political attack, putting hard-won progress at risk.
Too many women still lack access to quality maternal healthcare, contraception and essential reproductive services. Too many girls face violence, discrimination and barriers to healthcare that limit not only their well-being, but their freedom and future. When budgets tighten, women and children are too often the first to feel the cuts and the last to be protected.
In South Africa, we are working to strengthen primary healthcare, expanding equitable access to quality services, investing in the health workforce and building a more inclusive health system that reaches those most in need. We understand that progress in health is inseparable from progress in equality and development. A society cannot prosper if women are denied care, if children are left unprotected, or if adolescents are excluded from the services and opportunities they need to thrive.
Amidist all these challenges, we are delighted to formally welcome UNESCO into an agreement with INERELA+ where we will be united in our shared ambition to build support for adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (ASRHR), gender equality, and comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) among faith actors. This partnership will build on common ground and shared values around ASRHR and gender equality with faith actors who are influential in the education sector, with the ultimate goal of fostering an enabling environment for the effective delivery of CSE and violence-prevention.
This is a moment for political courage. A moment to choose investment over retreat, solidarity over indifference, and action over complacency. Above all, it is a moment to recognise the simple truth: if women, children and adolescents are not at the centre of our decisions, then the future will not be fair, stable or sustainable. But if they are, then a better future remains within reach.
With appreciation,
Munya Mandipaza – INERELA+ Executive Director