In a world of shrinking health budgets and rising anti-rights agendas, Women4GlobalFund (W4GF) is raising its voice. Our new paper challenges the idea that “lifesaving” can be reduced to pills, diagnostics, and treatment targets. For women and girls in all our diversity, lifesaving means the right to live with dignity, autonomy, and justice — not just survival.
As donors reprioritise and the Global Fund implements adaptation measures, we’re seeing gender-transformative and rights-based programmes deprioritised. Feminist organisations are underfunded, even as they lead community accountability, provide legal support, and respond to violence and stigma. Meanwhile, punitive laws, underinvestment, and gender-blind policies continue to put lives at risk — especially for adolescent girls, trans women, sex workers, migrants, and women living with or affected by HIV, TB, and malaria.
We’re calling this what it is: a political choice. Our response? A clear feminist vision of what saving lives must include: community-led systems, legal protections, mental health care, bodily autonomy, and women’s leadership in decision-making. Gender justice must be non-negotiable — in health funding, policy, and action.
Our 5 Lifesaving Feminist Essentials:
1️⃣ Flexible, core, long-term funding for feminist and women-led groups — especially those led by sex workers, trans women, adolescent girls, LGBTQI+ people, migrants, women with disabilities, and women affected by HIV, TB, or malaria.
2️⃣ Invest in gender-transformative systems that prioritise education, bodily autonomy, and end all forms of gender-based violence, stigma and discrimination.
3️⃣ Repeal punitive laws and integrate legal protections into national HIV, TB and malaria responses.
4️⃣ Expand care beyond treatment, funding mental health, social protection, and justice services.
5️⃣ Guarantee women’s and girls’ leadership, with decision-making power in CCMs and strong feminist accountability mechanisms.
📢 This is our call to donors, governments and global health institutions.
#FundHerHealth #8thReplenishment #GenderJustice #MeaningfulParticipation
🔗 Read and share our full statement here:
📄 ENGLISH | ESPAÑOL | FRANÇAIS