The Society for AIDS in Africa has emphasized the urgent action to secure domestic financing for health systems in the wake of funding threats to HIV/AIDS programs across the continent.
This call was made during the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) 2025 Steering Committee meeting in Accra, where participants stressed the critical need for African nations to reduce reliance on external donors and take ownership of their HIV/AIDS response.
Speaking during the meeting, President of the Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA) Dr. David Pagwesese Parirenyatwa indicated that the recent decision by the Trump administration to freeze and redirect U.S. aid support has cast uncertainty over funding for HIV/AIDS programs in Africa.
In light of this development, Dr. David Pagwesese Parirenyatwa urged the three ICASA 2025 sub-committees to reassess their plenary topics to include discussions on domestic health financing and the long-term sustainability of Africa’s HIV/AIDS response.
“If we do not think innovatively about the sustainability of our health systems and domestic financing, Africa will risk returning to the dark days of the 1980s and 1990s, when people were dying of AIDS due to lack of medicine,” Dr. Parirenyatwa warned.
The meeting was attended by development partners, board members of the Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA), and Ghanaian government officials.
However, despite the challenges, the society revealed a groundbreaking research emerging from South Africa’s HIV Cure Trial, which has provided renewed hope for a cure. The committee called on the African Union and national governments to take ownership of such scientific advancements to reduce the continent’s reliance on external support.
The meeting concluded with a rallying call for African nations and the diaspora to take decisive steps toward strengthening health systems with a focus on accountability, transparency, and universal access to care.
As ICASA 2025 approaches, stakeholders have also pledged to work collaboratively to ensure the conference serves as a defining moment for Africa’s healthcare future.
