Funding Updates Extracts from a letter from Meg French, Executive Director of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, dated June 19, 2025:
(Funds recently received have) allowed us to respond quickly to the immediate and dangerous funding gap created when the Trump administration froze and rescinded U.S. foreign aid earlier this year.
Recently, I returned from Eswatini and South Africa where our community-led partners continue to work with courage and resolve. They are delivering their life-saving services, as much as possible. Our partners are committed to finding a way forward.
While we were there, we met with staff at the Swatini Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA). You may recall from a recent update we shared, this powerful insight from one of their clients, "Before SWAGAA's intervention, I felt trapped and helpless ... I am immensely grateful for their comprehensive assistance, which has allowed me to envision a brighter future for myself and my family."
SWAGAA has led critical community responses to gender-based violence and violence against children for more than 30 years. But now, they have lost almost half of their counsellors and outreach workers as a result of the funding loss.
Staff shared with us that emergency funding they received from the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) will allow them to keep one of their two national emergency officers who respond to the most urgent cases. They said that the day they received news of the funding felt like an answer to their prayers.
We’ve heard from so many SLF partners who have expressed similar relief at being able to continue vital programs. Right now, we are disbursing emergency funds to over 20 community-led organizations.
Many are doing whatever they can to keep their programs going, rethinking how to do their critical work with much smaller budgets. Others, who weren’t directly impacted by the cuts, now face growing demand for their services, because there are fewer places to turn for help.
Some examples of how these funds are being put to work include:
emergency medical supplies
food packets for community members experiencing food insecurity and malnutrition
mobile clinics to reach remote communities with essential health care
core staffing for psychosocial programs for children, adolescents, parents and caregivers
counselling, shelter and legal guidance for survivors of gender-based violence
We know the leadership and expertise to sustain services and reinvigorate the HIV movement already exists within our network of partners and community leaders. Yet the implications of the last few months will require huge shifts in the global aid community and for those fighting against AIDS. We are committed to continue to work in solidarity with our partners as they adapt to this new reality.
