What happens when the aid money runs out?

In the second of our two-part series on tightening aid budgets, Sam Fenwick explores what shrinking donor support means for global health — from the sudden halt to major US-funded projects, to the pressure on low-income countries to increase their own health spending.

As G20 leaders gather in Johannesburg for the Global Fund’s Eighth Replenishment Summit, we hear from Zambia’s minister of commerce on how his country is trying to plug the aid gap through investment in critical minerals, and from Peter Sands, head of the Global Fund, on why he believes wealthy nations must keep funding global health even as more countries take on greater responsibility for their own systems.

With global aid budgets under strain, we examine what’s at stake at today’s summit — and what the future of funding for essential health programmes might look like.

Produced and presented by Sam Fenwick

(Image: An anonymous woman looks out over her local fishing community near the Zambezi River in Zambia. Credit: Action Aid)