Policy Updates

On October 13, 2025, following the declaration of a national HIV emergency in PNG in June 2025, the Australian government announced it would nearly triple its annual HIV development funding to the country to almost AUD10 million (US$6 million) for the 2025/2026 financial year.

The announcement was made by Assistant Minister for Pacific Island Affairs Nita Green during a visit to the newly renovated St Therese HIV clinic in Port Moresby. The increased funding will focus on prevention through awareness campaigns, increased testing, and expanded access to prevention measures. The support will also fund youth-led education programs and tailored services for women and girls, who are disproportionately affected by the virus.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong stated that the support reflects the close partnership between the two countries and the need to work together to safeguard the region. The new funding complements Australia’s ongoing support for regional partners like UNAIDS, Health Equity Matters, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Minister for Pacific Island Affairs Pat Conroy and Green reiterated Australia's commitment to working with PNG to improve health outcomes and respond to the HIV situation with urgency.

On September 25^th, 2025, during UNGA80 in New York, the Government of Norway committed NOK55 million (US$5.5 million) to the UNFPA Supplies Partnership for 2025, to expand access to contraceptives and maternal health supplies in 54 countries.

The new funding is intended to help avert an estimated 378,000 unintended pregnancies, more than 1,000 maternal deaths, and more than 6,000 child deaths. Norwegian Minister of International Development Åsmund Grøver Aukrust stated that Norway is committed to protecting sexual and reproductive rights and ensuring access to vital health services as a prerequisite for sustainable development.

The investment will leverage the UNFPA Supplies Partnership’s Match Fund, which encourages countries to increase their own spending on reproductive health. This has led to a fivefold increase in domestic spending on contraceptives since 2020.

On September 18, 2025, the US Department of State, under the leadership of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, released its America First Global Health Strategy, a comprehensive plan to align US global health programs with American national interests, security, and prosperity.

While the plan reaffirms commitment to goals for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and TB, the strategy marks a significant pivot from previous administrations, failing to mention previous administration and historically bipartisan priorities, including maternal and child health, routine immunizations, nutrition, and family planning. The document frames global health as a tool to counter Chinese influence, particularly in Africa.

The strategy is built on three pillars:

• "Making America safer" by improving disease surveillance and outbreak response;
• "Making America stronger" by shifting to bilateral agreements with partner countries; and
• "Making America more prosperous" by protecting the US economy from pandemics and promoting American health products.

The plan outlines a move away from NGO-led program delivery toward direct, multi-year bilateral agreements with recipient governments. The agreements will require co-investment from partner countries and will be tied to performance benchmarks. The US administration aims to finalize the deals with the 87 countries that received US health funding in FY2023 by the end of 2025, which is a timeline seen as highly challenging by global health experts, particularly in light of severe cuts to government global health staff.

The strategy justifies the shift by targeting “inefficient and wasteful” spending, asserting that 60% of current funding goes to overhead and program management rather than frontline services.

Critics raised concerns that the new model poses significant challenges, highlighting that a purely bilateral approach is seen as insufficient to tackle transnational threats, which require the broad, multilateral cooperation offered by institutions like the WHO. Another point of concern highlighted by health experts is the reduced funding for program management and technical assistance, which could weaken the detailed data collection and reporting that have historically allowed for close congressional oversight.

On September 18, 2025, the Verata Nursing Station in Fiji officially reopened following major climate-resilient renovations and the installation of solar power, funded by the KOICA.

The upgrades were completed under the multi-year SHAPE, which is implemented in partnership with the WHO and the MHMS. The project aims to ensure Fiji's health system can keep people safe amid growing climate-related threats such as stronger storms and floods.

Minister for MHMS Hon. Dr Ratu Atonio Rabici Lalabalavu, WHO Representative Dr Mark Jacobs, and KOICA Fiji Country Director Ms Hankyulsam Cho all highlighted the importance of the collaboration in building stronger, safer, and more resilient health services for the people of Fiji.

The broader SHAPE has also strengthened five other health facilities, installed solar power in 18 facilities, trained over 600 health workers, and improved disease surveillance and community adaptation to climate change impacts.

On September 11^th, 2025, the US State Department announced US$250 million in new public health assistance to the Philippines.

The new funding is intended to address public health challenges, with a focus on tuberculosis and maternal health. The assistance will also support investment in preparedness, detection, and response capabilities to reduce the threat of emerging diseases.

The programming builds on US$63 million in assistance announced during Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s official visit to Washington in July 2025. The US administration highlighted the announcement as a demonstration of its 'America First' foreign assistance approach.

On September 11, 2025, the US House Foreign Affairs Committee introduced two major pieces of legislation: the DFC Modernization Act of 2025, which proposes to increase the US DFC's lending cap to US$250 billion, and a series of bills aimed at reforming the US State Department.

The DFC Modernization Act, which closely resembles a proposal from the Trump administration, would increase the DFC's total lending cap from US$60 billion to US$250 billion. The bill would also allow the agency to invest in HICs for the first time, establish a revolving fund for equity investments, and raise the threshold for congressional notification of investments from US$10 million to US$100 million.

The second set of bills seeks to reform the US State Department by codifying changes made under US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The proposals include the creation of an undersecretary for foreign assistance and a 'global health compact' model designed to shift funding responsibilities to partner countries, which would include a phase-out of PEPFAR funding. The legislation also suggests tying foreign assistance to a country's alignment with US policy positions.

Former OPIC CEO Robert Mosbacher Jr. expressed concern about linking the DFC bill to the more contentious State Department authorization. A short-term extension for the DFC may be necessary to allow more time for negotiation.

On September 5, 2025, Canadian Secretary of State for International Development Randeep Sarai announced CAD3 million (US$2 million) in humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province, following a magnitude 6.0 earthquake on August 31, 2025.

The WFP will receive CAD1.3 million (US$941,000) for food and logistical services. The ICRC is allocated CAD1 million (US$724,000) to support communities affected by both conflict and the earthquake. Through the CHAF, CARE and IRC will each receive CAD350,000 (US$253,000) for vital assistance including clean water, sanitation, emergency shelter, and health services.

Additionally, Sarai announced that Canada is providing a separate total of CAD36 million (US$26 million) in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan in 2025. This broader funding supports life-saving assistance such as food, nutrition, emergency health care, and protection services, delivered through UN, Red Cross, and other NGO partners.

On September 4, 2025, the US Department of State announced a plan to provide the HIV-prevention drug lenacapavir to two million people by 2028, a commitment delivered through the PEPFAR and the Global Fund.

The developer of the drug, Gilead Sciences, stated it would offer the drug at no profit for the initiative. The plan follows a similar commitment made in December 2024, which had been put in doubt by funding cuts to the USAID in early 2025. As a key implementing agency for PEPFAR, USAID is on the front lines of the global HIV/AIDS response, working to deliver prevention, treatment, and care services. The funding cuts in early 2025 created significant uncertainty about the US government's ability to follow through on its global health commitments.

The announcement received mixed reactions. Health advocates criticized the target of two million people as too low to have a significant epidemiological impact compared to the estimated 40 million people in need of PrEP in SSA. Experts also raised concerns about implementation, questioning which populations would be prioritized, how logistical challenges like cold-chain and training would be addressed, and what the "at-cost" price from Gilead would be.

On September 2, 2025, ONE released a report indicating that the German government's proposed development budget cuts could lead to an estimated 650,000 deaths, nearly three million children unvaccinated against polio, and fail to prevent nine million new infections of AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

The report highlights a significant planned decline in the budget of the BMZ by 2026, amounting to a 28% decrease from 2022 levels. During the same period, Germany's defense spending is set to increase to more than EUR86 billion (US$100 billion). The report highlights that the cuts represent just 0.05% of the total federal budget but may have life-threatening consequences for millions of people globally.

The report focused on the impact of a combined EUR542 million (US$632 million) reduction for 2025 and 2026 across four major international health and development organizations:

• The GFATM faces the largest cut of at least EUR350 million (US$408 million), with a potential additional reduction of EUR100 million (US$117 million) under discussion. This could result in 650,000 preventable deaths and a failure to stop nine million new infections;
• Funding for the GPEI is set to be halved between 2024 and 2026, a reduction of EUR18 million (US$21 million) that would leave 2.8 million children unvaccinated and risk 18,500 cases of permanent paralysis;
• A EUR160 million (US$187 million) cut to the IDA, the World Bank’s fund for the lowest-income countries, is projected to block between EUR500 million (US$583 million) and EUR600 million (US$700 million) in leveraged investments for health, water, and social safety nets; and
• Germany’s contribution to the UNFPA is expected to drop by one-third by 2026,falling from EUR43 million (US$50 million) in 2024 to EUR28 million (US$33 million) in 2026, endangering up to 925 lives and leaving hundreds of thousands of women and girls without access to health services and protection from violence.

On August 27, 2025, Norway's delegation, led by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, released its priorities for the 80^th UNGA, focusing on fostering multilateral cooperation through the UN80 Initiative, promoting international law, and advancing the 2030 Agenda, while reaffirming its commitment to allocate 1% of GNI to ODA.

Amid geopolitical upheaval and a financial crisis at the UN, Norway will focus on countering polarization and supporting the UN80 reform initiative to make the organization more effective. The Norwegian delegation, which also includes Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide and Minister of International Development Åsmund Grøver Aukrust, will work to restore trust in the multilateral system, which is under pressure from Russia's war in Ukraine and reduced funding from major donors like the US.

Key priorities include promoting respect for international law, defending human rights with a focus on gender equality, and enhancing the UN's capacity for peacebuilding and conflict resolution. Norway will also continue to push for disarmament and maintain the UN's capacity to respond to humanitarian crises. The delegation will advance the 2030 Agenda, with special emphasis on financing for development, climate action, global health, and ocean sustainability.