By Watipaso Mzungu:
A fath-based organization and concerned health rights activists are not backtracking in demanding transparency and accountability in the selection of Principal Recipient (PR) of the Global Fund resources for the next grant cycle.
From the Malawi Health Forum — a vibrant social media platform for health activists, journalists and community leaders — the demand is getting louder: the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM), locally known as the Malawi Global Fund Coordinating Committee (MGFCC), must abide by and respect its own resolution on the next PR.
At the centre of the standoff is the full MGFCC meeting of August 18, 2026, at the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation in Lilongwe, where members voted 7 to 5 to endorse ActionAid Malawi (AAM) as the Community PR for Grant Cycle 8 (GC8), replacing World Vision Malawi.
However, CCM Secretariat seems to be dragging its feet to implement the resolution, prompting health rights advocates to suspect some foul play in the manner the Secretariat is handling the issue.
For advocates, including Dingani Mithi of Journalists Against AIDS (JournAIDS) and a vocal campaigner known on the forum as Mangochi, that vote is final and must be communicated to Geneva.
“The partners already decided. The CCM already voted. What we are asking for is simple: respect your own resolution,” said one senior advocate involved in the process.
Mangochi was more blunt, questioning why the Secretariat is stalling.
“CCM Secretariat has interest. Otherwise issue palibe. Kwatsala iwowo alembe ku Global Fund for the last decision imene CCM Committee inapanga [Otherwise there’s no issue here. What’s remaining now is for the CCM Secretariat to formally write to the Global Fund informing it of the resolution the Committee made],” he wrote.
Weighing in, Mithi said the mandate of the CCM is clear.
“CCM Committee made a decision and that has to be taken forward, not the other way. That’s how I understand the issue. That’s why we have CCM in place to do that job. That’s it!” said Mithi.
And in a statement issued on Tuesday, the Malawi Interfaith Association for Action (MIAA), a faith-coordinating body in Malawi, m called for an urgent end to the impasse over the selection of a Principal Recipient (PR) for the country’s next Global Fund grant, warning that prolonged delays could put essential HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria programmes at risk.
MIAA said the Global Fund remains critical to Malawi’s health response, supporting medicines, HIV treatment commodities, TB services, malaria prevention and treatment, as well as community-based HIV prevention and support programmes.
The faith-coordinating body also called on CCM members to exercise their mandate independently and responsibly, without intimidation, coercion or undue influence.
“The people of Malawi must come first. The fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria must come first. The timely protection of life must come first,” reads the statement.
That August 18 decision was not routine. At stake is about $437.9 million — roughly K766 billion — to fight HIV, tuberculosis and malaria and to strengthen Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health from July 1, 2027 to June 30, 2030. Of that, $339.6 million is for HIV, $82.2 million for malaria and $16.1 million for TB and health systems — over 60 percent of all external financing for the three diseases in Malawi.
In a health sector already battered by USAID cuts, subdued domestic revenue and public debt above 90 percent of GDP, any delay in unlocking the money risks breaking continuity of life-saving community services.
The MGFCC is the national body mandated to develop and submit funding requests to the Global Fund and oversee implementation. Its Secretariat is led by Executive Secretary Cuthbert Nyirenda, the focal point for the PR selection, and its Chairperson is Secretary to the Treasury Cliff Chiunda.
Civil society leaders who were in the room say the August 18 vote was deliberate and principled. The full CCM rejected the earlier recommendation of the PR Selection Committee, which had picked World Vision International, and resolved not to use the Grant Ready Funding Request pathway that would have automatically retained existing PRs.
To community constituencies, the shift to ActionAid Malawi signalled localization — putting community grant management in the hands of an organization rooted in rights-based, community-led work.
If confirmed, ActionAid would disburse and account for community grants to local implementers including CBOs, youth and women led groups, key population, TB and HIV organisations including, Malawi Network of AIDS Service Organisations (MANASO), MANET+.
But advocates allege that democratic decision is being quietly undermined.
They accuse UNAIDS Country Director David Chipanta and some senior government officials of interfering and lobbying behind the scenes to reverse the decision in favour of the incumbent, World Vision Malawi.
“This is not technical support, this is interference. The CCM is supposed to be an independent, multi-stakeholder governance body. When development partners start lobbying for a preferred PR, they undermine the very principles of transparency, accountability and country ownership that the Global Fund stands for,” said a senior advocate who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals.
What has devastated civil society more, they say, is the passivity at the top. Despite knowing that any delay in finalising the PR will delay grant-making and disbursement — with direct consequences for people living with HIV, children at risk of malaria and TB patients — Chiunda, as MGFCC Chair and custodian of public finances, has remained silent and has not moved to defend and transmit the August 18 resolution.
“Secretary to the Treasury is aware that any delays to select the PR will result in delays in disbursement of resources, which will consequently affect beneficiaries. His silence in the face of alleged interference is devastating,” said another campaigner.
The current row builds on earlier accountability demands. In July, Malawi Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV and AIDS (MANERELA+) and Female Sex Workers Association (FSWA) demanded transparency in PR identification and called for suspension of GC8 processes until governance concerns were addressed.
The Malawi Council of Churches (MCC) has also warned that the impasse risks Malawi failing to unlock the $437.9 million, saying “these funds are not merely financial allocations; they represent hope, health, and life for millions of Malawians.”
Advocates now say they will petition the Global Fund Secretariat in Geneva if the meddling continues, and want the Global Fund to urgently safeguard the independence of the Malawi CCM.
Efforts to get comment from Nyirenda and Chiunda on Saturday were unsuccessful. Chipanta had not responded to a questionnaire at press time.
But on the Malawi Health Forum, the message is settled and watertight: the vote was taken, ActionAid Malawi won, and the Secretariat must act.
“Malawi cannot afford to lose $437.9 million because of ego and interference. Every day we delay, we put lives at risk,” said one advocate.
