Global Leaders Network

The first and only Global South-led health diplomacy initiative to support the attainment of the 2030 SDGs on women's, children's and adolescent's health.

[Global Leaders Network @GLN_Community]

"There are promises governments make because they are popular. Others, because they are convenient. And then there are promises a nation must keep. Universal health coverage is one such promise."

Opening Kenya's National Health Summit 2026, President William Samoei Ruto described universal health coverage (UHC) as a commitment to ensure that illness does not push families into financial hardship, and that access to healthcare does not depend on a person's ability to pay.

"For years, Kenya lived with a contradiction we should never have accepted, that access to health could depend on the size of a citizen's wallet. Illness could force a farmer to sell his livestock, or even his land. A mother could exhaust her savings, or a community be forced to organise a fundraising simply to keep one of their own alive. Too often, treatment became a debt, and sickness a pathway to poverty. That was wrong. It was also unjust."

Held under the theme "Reforms Delivered, Health as a Right," the two-day summit brings together national and county governments, health professionals, development partners and the private sector to review progress and shape the next phase of Kenya's efforts to advance universal health coverage.

#GLN #UHC #HealthForAll #HealthSummitKE2026

[Global Leaders Network @GLN_Community]

Turning to one of the region's gravest challenges, H.E. President Cyril Ramaphosa described gender-based violence as a pandemic demanding collective action.

“Across our region, gender-based violence and femicide wear different faces, but have the same root. This is a pandemic that has its roots in attitudes, institutions and practices that denigrate and discriminate against women. Our collective response must focus on prevention, support for survivors, stricter laws, improved prosecutions and the economic empowerment of women. Our response must be comprehensive.” — H.E President Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa and GLN Chair

#GLN #WCAH #SADC #SADCSummit2026 #SADCVision2050 #GBVF

[Global Leaders Network @GLN_Community]

As the global health architecture undergoes reform, H.E. President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasised the importance of a united regional voice.

"As a region, we must engage robustly, with one voice, in the reform of the global health architecture. Health security is very important to all of us, and you only realise it the day you are sick that we need to have good health security." — H.E. President Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa and GLN Chair

#GLN #WCAH #SADC #SADCSummit2026 #GlobalHealthArchitecture

[Global Leaders Network @GLN_Community]

"Our region still carries far too heavy a burden of maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent death. Most of these deaths are preventable. They cannot be acceptable." — H.E President Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa and GLN Chair

President Ramaphosa made the remarks during his Public Lecture at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, in Durban, on the margins of the 46th SADC Summit.

#GLN #WCAH #SADC #SADCSummit2026 #SADCVision2050 #HealthSecurity

[Global Leaders Network @GLN_Community]

Postponement Notice:

The Global Leaders Network high-level meeting, previously scheduled for 15 August 2026, has been postponed.

A new date will be announced in due course. We thank you for your interest and understanding, and look forward to convening this important discussion at a later date.

[Global Leaders Network @GLN_Community]

Join Heads of State and Government, regional institutions, civil society, development finance institutions and global health leaders for a high-level conversation on securing the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents.

Chaired by H.E. President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chair of the Global Leaders Network, the meeting will explore how stronger domestic investment, country-led action, regional accountability and global solidarity can protect hard-won gains and accelerate progress.

📅 15 August 2026
🕔 17:00–18:00 SAST
🔗 Join us online: https://t.co/KZMyTCiVuN

#GLN #WCAH #SADC #SRHR #SADCSummit2026 #BetterAfricaBetterWorld

[Global Leaders Network @GLN_Community]

The Global Leaders Network, together with @PMNCH, will convene a high-level virtual meeting on the eve of the 46th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of SADC to reaffirm women's, children's and adolescents' health as a national, regional and global priority.

Despite notable progress, significant gaps remain:
🔵Maternal mortality across the region has fallen 38% since 2000, but remains unacceptably high in several Member States.
🔵49 million women across East and Southern Africa lack access to family planning services, more than half of them young women.
🔵Millions of women and girls experience gender-based violence, with underreporting and insufficient investment hindering prevention and response.
🔵1 in 4 new HIV infections in the region occur among adolescent girls and young women, and adolescent birth rates remain nearly twice the global average.

Discussions will explore how stronger domestic investment, country-led action, regional accountability and global solidarity can protect hard-won gains and accelerate progress for mothers and future generations.

📅 15 August 2026
🕔 17:00 - 18:00 SAST
💻 Virtual
🔗 Register here: https://t.co/qZjp2SSfG7

#GLN #SRHR #SADC #SADCSouthAfrica #BetterAfricaBetterWorld

[Global Leaders Network @GLN_Community]

As leaders prepare to gather for the 46th SADC Summit, the Global Leaders Network will bring Heads of State and Government together for a high-level virtual meeting on securing the health and well-being of mothers and future generations.

The discussion will focus on how stronger political leadership, sustainable domestic investment and regional accountability can protect hard-won gains and accelerate progress for women, children and adolescents.

📅 15 August 2026
🕕 17:00–18:00 SAST
🔗 Join us online: https://t.co/c2qBV3Vg0e

#GLN #WCAH #SRHR #SADCSummit2026 #SADCSouthAfrica #BetterAfricaBetterWorld

[Global Leaders Network @GLN_Community]

[WATCH THE ANNOUNCEMENT]
Speaking at the Global Leaders Network's high-level ministerial symposium at the 26th International AIDS Conference, CEO of the South African National Aids Council (SANAC), Dr Thembisile Xulu, announced that South Africa had formally submitted its list of recommended local manufacturers to Gilead Sciences, marking the start of the company's evaluation process for the production of generic lenacapavir for the SADC region.

#RethinkRebuildRise #IAS2026 #AIDS2026 #WCAH #EndAIDS2030 #lenacapavir #SADC

[IAC - the International AIDS Conference @AIDS_conference]

🌍 The momentum from #AIDS2026 continues as we take the partnerships, ideas and lessons from #Rio back to countries and communities around the world.

📽️ Hear @AchrekarAngeli, @UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director and Global Practice Lead, reflect on how we can turn what we started to build together at AIDS 2026 into lasting impact.

#RethinkRebuildRise @GLN_Community

[Global Leaders Network @GLN_Community]

"For adolescent girls and young women, HIV risk is shaped by whether a girl remains in school, whether she can access comprehensive sexual education, whether she can access HIV prevention and post-violence care without fear, whether the law protects her from child marriage and violence, and whether she has the economic and social power and agency to decide about her body and her future. We cannot prevent HIV while ignoring the conditions that produce vulnerability." — Angeli Achrekar, Deputy Executive Director and Global Practice Lead at UNAIDS, speaking at our high-level ministerial symposium "Leading for the Future: Re-centering Women, Children and Adolescents as a Pathway to Sustained HIV Epidemic Control."

#RethinkRebuildRise #IAS2026 #AIDS2026 #WCAH #EndAIDS2030

[Global Leaders Network @GLN_Community]

"We are not likely to see an improvement in the HIV response if we do not improve universal health coverage. Improving UHC is the best way of strengthening health services while at the same time focusing on the special needs of certain groups of the population." — Javier Padilla Bernáldez, Secretary of State for Health, Spain

#RethinkRebuildRise #IAS2026 #AIDS2026 #WCAH #EndAIDS2030

[Global Leaders Network @GLN_Community]

"Women, children, and adolescents are not a side issue in the HIV response. They are the central pathway to epidemic control, health systems resilience, and also sustainable outcomes. If we protect their rights and invest in their health, we will move closer to a future free of HIV and AIDS."  — Hon. Dr. Mathume Joseph "Joe" Phaahla, Deputy Minister of Health, South Africa
#RethinkRebuildRise #IAS2026 #AIDS2026 #WCAH

[IAC - the International AIDS Conference @AIDS_conference]

📣 "It is reachable, it is doable, but it needs all of us."

Mathume Joseph "Joe" Phaahla, Deputy Minister of Health, #SouthAfrica, shares his message from #AIDS2026 on why ending #HIV and AIDS as a public health threat is within reach, but only through collective action.

▶️ Watch his full message.

#RethinkRebuildRise @HealthZA @GLN_Community

[Global Leaders Network @GLN_Community]

South Africa reaches a major milestone in expanding access to HIV prevention and treatment.

Announcing the news at the our high-level ministerial symposium at #AIDS2026, Dr Thembisile Xulu, Chief Executive Officer of the South African National Aids Council (@SA_AIDSCOUNCIL), confirmed that the country has submitted its list of recommended manufacturers to Gilead Sciences, initiating the company’s evaluation process for local production of generic lenacapavir.

This marks an important step towards strengthening regional manufacturing and ensuring that lifesaving innovations reach the communities that need them most.

#RethinkRebuildRise #IAS2026 #AIDS2026 #WCAH #EndAIDS2030

[IAC - the International AIDS Conference @AIDS_conference]

“Women, children and adolescents are not a side issue in the #HIV response. They are the central pathway to epidemic control and health system resilience... If we protect their rights and invest in health, we will move closer to a future free of HIV and AIDS.”

- South Africa Deputy Minister of Health Joseph Phaahla 🇿🇦 #AIDS2026

@HealthZA @GLN_Community

[IAC - the International AIDS Conference @AIDS_conference]

In sub-Saharan Africa, women and girls account for 63% of all new #HIV acquisitions. - South Africa Deputy Minister of Health Joseph Phaahla 🇿🇦 #AIDS2026 @HealthZA @GLN_Community

[IAC - the International AIDS Conference @AIDS_conference]

#Zimbabwe has made a homegrown innovative domestic health financing model, launched in the early years of the #HIV epidemic in 1999… Our responses is grounded in equity, and in not leaving anyone or any place behind.”

- Zimbabwe Minister of Health and Child Care Douglas Mombeshora 🇿🇼 #AIDS2026

@MoHCCZim @GLN_Community

[IAC - the International AIDS Conference @AIDS_conference]

“Much of the funding by donors was gone overnight… All those systems that we had allowed to be supported by the donors, and had developed in parallel, they all collapsed.” - #Zambia Director of Infectious Diseases Lloyd Mulenga 🇿🇲 on the impact of #PEPFAR funding cuts. #AIDS2026

@mohzambiahq @GLN_Community

[Global Leaders Network @GLN_Community]

Attending the 26th International AIDS Conference? Join us today, in person or online, for a high-level ministerial symposium on the future of the HIV response.

"Leading for the Future: Re-centering women, children, and adolescents as a pathway to sustained HIV epidemic control" will bring together Ministers of Health, global health leaders and partners to explore the leadership, partnerships, financing and community-led action needed to sustain progress, protect hard-won gains, and accelerate efforts to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, with women, children and adolescents at the heart of the response.

📅 29 July 2026
🕕 18:00–19:30 BRT
📍 Riocentro, Rio de Janeiro
📖 Programme: https://t.co/j29wyEWlGS
▶️ Watch online: https://t.co/ZeEn5hMaB3

#RethinkRebuildRise #IAS2026 #AIDS2026 #WCAH #EndAIDS2030