U.S. to End $45 Million Annual Funding for Namibia’s HIV Response

The United States announced that it will start phasing out its $45 million yearly contribution to Namibia’s HIV response after the 2027 fiscal year, ending more than a decade of PEPFAR support that has exceeded $1.1 billion since 2003. From that point forward, the U.S. will provide only technical cooperation as Namibia assumes full financing of its HIV programmes, a change prompted by Namibia’s refusal to accept proposed health-data and biological-sample sharing provisions that it said conflict with national laws and constitutional privacy protections.

This policy follows a broader "America First" aid approach that has led to renegotiated or rejected agreements in Ghana, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Zambia. Namibia has achieved UNAIDS goals, with 96 % of people living with HIV aware of their status, 98 % of diagnosed individuals on treatment and 98 % of those treated achieving viral suppression. Both parties indicated ongoing talks to craft a new bilateral health pact that respects Namibia’s legal framework. The United States has also begun drawing down more than $400 million in annual support for South Africa’s HIV programmes as part of the same shift.