Maputo, July 24, 2025 (Lusa) - The director of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) spoke in Maputo on Thursday about the “more challenging context” regarding access and funding for health, highlighting the urgent need to protect the lives of thousands of children and women.
“We need funding, and I believe that point is clear.” Several studies are available, showing that international assistance in the area of health has saved millions of lives, and maintaining these funds will continue to save people, children, and women who need adequate maternal care (...). With the weakening commitment of certain partners, we face a significant challenge,” said AECID director Antón Leis.
He was speaking about Spain’s commitment to health at the Global Forum on Innovation and Action for Immunisation and Child Survival - 2025, which has been taking place since Tuesday in Maputo and ends today.
“We must see clearly. We are likely experiencing the most challenging context for global health financing in recent history, and what is at risk is what we have at stake: the progress we have achieved as a whole, including our partner countries, donors from the North, and the scientific community. Together, we have achieved something that does not exist in any other sector,” warned Antón Leis.
In addition to funding, he called for reforms for more integrated global health. He urged countries to move forward with closer relations, including health agencies and other entities, to share experiences and knowledge to save lives.
“I think we know that this is not only the right thing to do, but also the smart thing to do. We can go further and be more effective and efficient (...). The most important thing, and I think this event symbolises this very well, is partnership through partnership. We now live in a world of collaboration; everyone seeks collaboration. What we want and need is everyone,” he said, emphasising the partnership between countries.
At the same Global Forum on Innovation and Action for Immunisation and Child Survival, Antón Leis argued that “countries in the north and south form a truly beneficial partnership”.
“I think the strongest case for making this a reality is in the area of global health (...). It is now about a true partnership between different actors,” he stressed.
At the end of January, US President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on his country’s foreign aid, which is mainly channelled through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), supporting various programmes in this area, including those in Mozambique.
The decision prompted concern among humanitarian organisations worldwide that depend on US contracts to continue operating.
On 10 July, the UN warned that there could be 6 million new HIV infections and 4 million additional AIDS-related deaths by 2030 if US funding cuts persist.
In a report, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) stated that its projections point to this scenario should the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) experience a “permanent disruption,” which provided for approximately $4.3 billion (€3.67 billion) in “bilateral support” for this year.
According to the UNAIDS document, the wave of funding cuts has destabilised supply chains, led to the closure of health centres, left thousands of clinics without staff, delayed prevention programmes, interrupted early HIV detection and forced several community organisations to reduce or cease their activities.
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