On 17 September 2025, nearly 370 civil society leaders, community advocates, and partners from across Africa joined an emergency webinar organized by the COMPASS Coalition, EANNASO, and the Key Populations Transnational Collaboration (KP-TNC), alongside allied networks. The webinar was moderated by Lizzie Otaye (EANNASO), Donald Tobaiwa (COMPASS Coalition), and Richard Muko Ochanda (COMPASS Coalition). It was convened in response to the highly compressed PEPFAR Bridge Planning process that began on 5 September, with country plans due by 24–25 September and final approval scheduled for 30 September.

The main presentation was delivered by Asia Russell of Health GAP, who outlined the risks posed by the new six-month “Bridge Plan,” covering October 2025 to March 2026. Unlike the longer-term Country Operational Plans (COPs), this stop-gap measure comes with an across-the-board 40% cut in funding. Participants warned that this effectively enacts the President’s FY26 budget proposal, bypasses Congress and its FY25 appropriations, and threatens to decimate prevention programs, particularly those serving key populations.

Asia Russell emphasized that the documentation sent to governments—often through the U.S. Office of Foreign Assistance rather than Ministries of Health—varied from bare-bones budget notes to technical-style guidance. In almost every case, civil society was left out of the loop, forced to learn about the process indirectly. She cautioned that this exclusion jeopardizes the integrity of HIV programming and undermines accountability to the very communities PEPFAR is meant to serve.

Country coordinators shared stark realities on the ground. In Tanzania, Francis Luwole (COMPASS Country Coordinator) confirmed that CSOs had not been engaged, but a tiered minimum community package is ready to be tabled as an advocacy tool. In Malawi, Thandie Msukuma (COMPASS Country Coordinator) reported that communities had conducted consultations and consolidated a core package to present as non-negotiable priorities. In Zimbabwe, Munyaradzi Chimwara (COMPASS Country Coordinator) explained that the absence of a PEPFAR Coordinator has made engagement nearly impossible, though CSOs are leveraging an existing core package of care to press for their inclusion.

From the key population perspective, Solomon Wambua (Kenya KP Consortium) and George Onyema (Nigeria KP Consortium) described how the narrowed waiver threatens prevention, peer systems, and community drop-in centers, even as treatment continuity is being emphasized. Both stressed that community-developed “KP COPs” and minimum life-saving packages should be used as reference points to safeguard services.

Additional momentum came from GBGMC’s Maureen Milanga, who noted that KP CSOs in 20 countries had already developed Community Life-Saving Plans or KP COPs. These documents—funded as advocacy tools—serve as templates that CSOs across the region can adapt to articulate demands and press for inclusion in Bridge Plans.

Participants agreed on urgent steps before the 25 September deadline:

• Demand access to budget envelopes and draft plans from country coordinators and governments.
• Submit costed community minimum packages anchored in evidence, human rights, and the principle of “highest-impact life-saving services.”
• Convene rapid in-country CSO huddles to unify three to five non-negotiable priorities.
• Engage Ministries of Health, CCMs, and allies in government to co-sign community priorities.
• Document all instances of exclusion and service risks for accountability.

Discussions will continue during the CHANGE coalition’s call on 18 September, offering a collaborative space to refine strategies, share intelligence, and explore engagement with global partners and Congressional appropriators in the U.S.

The overarching message of the webinar was clear: PEPFAR cannot claim to safeguard life-saving services while cutting funding by 40% and sidelining civil society. Communities across Africa are mobilizing to protect treatment, prevention, and rights-based programming under the rallying call: “Nothing for us, without us.”