Policy Updates

On October 19, 2026, GiveWell confirmed it was considering a malaria partnership with the GFATM, which could become its latest malaria investment after more than US$1 billion since 2007.

Since its founding in 2007, GiveWell invested more than US$1 billion in malaria prevention and response programs that it deems the most cost-effective. The proposed Malaria Impact Accelerator would expand coverage and deployment of malaria interventions across the world through the GFATM.

A document reviewed by journalists showed the accelerator would prioritize countries with the highest malaria burden and lowest economic capacity. The document did not specify interventions. The GFATM board was expected to consider the accelerator at its October 2026 meeting.

Some board members welcomed the initiative, while others questioned whether it could discourage countries from increasing their own domestic resources for malaria response.

On October 12, 2026, the Gates Foundation and Wellcome Leap announced a US$100 million joint investment to launch Uzima: A Stillbirth Prevention Program, which set a goal of halving stillbirth rates in select countries over the next decade.

The program planned to identify, validate, and scale innovations that could help families and health workers recognize risks earlier and respond to complications during pregnancy and childbirth. The commitment planned to begin with partners in sub-Saharan Africa, which would advance promising new tools and create a blueprint for reducing stillbirths globally.

The program is set to explore five categories of innovation:

• diagnostic tools, such as biomarker-based and imaging-based tests, for earlier detection of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes;
• AI-enabled ultrasound and other screening tools for settings with limited resources;
• labor sensors that help health workers detect complications sooner;
• AI-enabled decision-support tools; and
• integrated patient navigation systems for mothers, families, and community health workers.

On October 12, 2026, the UN General Assembly adopted a political declaration on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response without consensus, after objections from the US and a few other states blocked approval at a high-level meeting on September 25, 2026.

The non-binding declaration calls for stronger national, regional, and international cooperation guided by science, equity, and respect for human rights. It welcomes the WHO Pandemic Agreement, adopted in 2025.

Chile's representative said no country can address a cross-border threat alone. WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, urged countries to finalize the PABS annex so the Pandemic Agreement can open for signature, begin ratification, and enter into force.

The US said it could not support text that overlooks national policy boundaries. The US objected to language implying commitments to agreements or negotiations it had not joined. It also objected to references to WHO-led processes, including the amended IHR, the Pandemic Agreement, and the PABS annex negotiations, as well as the excessive and repetitive use of 'equity' and its variants.

On October 10, 2026, the government of Bangladesh and the EIB set out plans for a EUR250 million (US$286 million) program to improve women's health and strengthen district hospitals for approximately 47 million women and girls.

The program, known as the Women's Health Initiative, proposed using funds approved in 2021 to support Bangladesh's COVID-19 immunization program, mid-term pandemic preparedness, and general health system resilience. This new program aims to expand access to essential health services during 2027-2031.

The initiative proposed expanding maternal and newborn care, cervical and breast cancer services, and access to emergency obstetric and newborn care. It also planned to strengthen primary healthcare, referral services, district hospitals, and critical care to deliver reliable, high-quality care and respond more effectively to future emergencies.

The UNFPA supported the government of Bangladesh in developing the program and is expected to provide technical expertise during implementation.

On October 1, 2026, The US Department of State intends to launch new implementation plans that would overhaul global health assistance for 35 partner countries, shifting toward increased G2G health financing, without having shared the plans with the US Congress, according to a congressional source.

The State Department had already notified Congress of its intention to establish G2G financing arrangements for Kenya, Malawi, and Uganda, offering an early indication of how the new funding model would operate. As of the October 1, 2026 launch, the implementation plans had not been publicly released or provided to Congress.

The plans were drafted in cooperation with partner governments and expanded on memoranda of understanding that US officials began establishing with countries in December 2025. They would determine how billions of US dollars in health financing were spent. The implementation plans had originally been scheduled to take effect in April 2026, but were delayed without explanation. In the interim, the State Department maintained existing global health programs through three- or six-month grants.

On September 30, 2026, on the eve of the U.S. State Department launching its new implementation plan for bilateral healh agreements, it was announced that the Trump administration terminated US global health funding to Zimbabwe, including support for HIV and other infectious disease programs, after Zimbabwe's government rejected an "America First" foreign assistance agreement with Washington.

The US Department of State confirmed the decision in a statement, noting that implementing partners in Zimbabwe would receive a short window to responsibly close out all US government-funded programs. The department said it remained committed to an orderly handover of operations.

The termination followed months of negotiations in which the Trump administration sought new terms from recipient countries in exchange for continued US development assistance. Zimbabwe declined to sign such an agreement. Health advocates and officials from other recipient countries criticized the negotiation process, arguing that the administration pressured governments into accepting unfavorable terms. Limited analysis of the agreements indicated that they reduced tens of billions of US dollars in global health funding worldwide, even as the US Congress continued to appropriate funding for these programs.

On September 28, 2026, Four Democratic members of the US House of Representatives sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, warning that the State Department was considering ending funding for the FEWS NET, which would need to begin terminating staff by September 30, 2026 absent continued funding.

The letter, signed by Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Reps. Angie Craig, Sara Jacobs, and Shontel Brown, said FEWS NET had monitored global hunger hotspots and helped anticipate famine since 1985. The lawmakers said the program gave humanitarian organizations and donors advance time to direct food assistance to emerging crises, helping prevent further deterioration, save lives, and reduce the cost of emergency relief.

FEWS NET had sufficient resources to operate through the end of 2026, but faced staff terminations starting September 30, 2026, without continued State Department funding. The warning comes as a forecasted "Super El Nino" threatened to push tens of millions more people into acute hunger.

On September 25, 2026, a political declaration intended to strengthen global pandemic preparedness failed to secure unanimous support at a high-level UN meeting, after the US and EU objected to provisions on technology transfer, financing, and pathogen and product sharing.

European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness, and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib, speaking for the EU, said the declaration contained valuable commitments but also setbacks on issues the bloc considered essential, including technology transfer terms and the balance between domestic and international financing.

US CDC Director Erica Schwartz cited unresolved concerns over undefined ideological language and the unfinished PABS annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement.

The declaration will stil proceed to the UN General Assembly for a vote, though departing from the practice of securing member-state endorsement before formal adoption. UN General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman said broad support existed for the text, but that some concerns remained, to be addressed in the General Assembly.

On September 24, 2026, France announced support for UNICEF's Child Nutrition Fund at a UNICEF event held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to mobilize international action against nutritional crises and famine.

French support funded a malnutrition prevention and treatment program in Sudan's Darfur and Kordofan regions, areas affected by armed conflict, though the specific moneraty sum is still to be announced. The program aimed to benefit 100,000 people, including 80,000 children under five and 20,000 pregnant women and mothers of children under two. It emphasized nutritional support during the first 1,000 days of a child's life, a critical window for development. Other donors committed to UNICEF to match France's contribution with an equivalent amount of funding, doubling the impact of France's commitment to Sudan's most vulnerable children.

On September 21, 2026, during a CEPI side event at the 81^st session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 81) Ethiopia, Norway, and the United Kingdom announced pledged total of US$240 million to support the CEPI's five-year plan to strengthen global epidemic and pandemic preparedness.

Norway pledged NOK1 billion (US$106 million), and the UK pledged up to GBP100 million (US$134 million). Ethiopia committed to continue its existing financial support for CEPI, without specifying a new amount.

The pledges will support CEPI 3.0, the organization's strategy for 2027-2031, which aims to systematically reduce the likelihood, impact, and cost of epidemics and pandemics. The combined US$240 million commitment reflected continued donor support for pandemic preparedness financing following the COVID-19 pandemic.