Health Leaders Launch Series to Tackle Declining Aid and Secure Domestic Funding

The Global Leaders Network (GLN), a South-led health diplomacy initiative, is launching a new webinar series to tackle a looming health financing crisis. The series, titled “Domestic Resource Mobilisation in Action,” will convene global leaders and health experts to strategize on new ways to fund health programs for women, children, and adolescents amid a projected 40% decline in Official Development Assistance (ODA).

Scheduled for Friday, September 5, 2025, the inaugural session will bring together policymakers and experts from Africa and Asia to discuss how to protect national health budgets and ensure sustainable financing for vulnerable populations.

The event comes as a shrinking donor funding landscape threatens to reverse decades of progress on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Featured speakers for the event include:

• H.E. Dr. Pakishe Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister of Health, South Africa
• H.E. Dr Mekdes Daba, Minister of Health, Ethiopia
• Rajat Khosla, Executive Director, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH)
• Vasoontara Yiengprugsawan, Senior Universal Health Coverage Specialist, Asian Development Bank
• Dr. Landry Tsague, Director, Primary Health Care, Africa CDC

The webinar series is convened by the GLN in partnership with PMNCH and the National School of Government, Republic of South Africa. The GLN was founded in 2023 with a mission to reduce maternal, neonatal, and adolescent mortality rates by a third in its network countries by 2030. PMNCH, hosted by the World Health Organization, is a global alliance of nearly 1,500 organizations dedicated to the health and well-being of women, children, and adolescents.