World Health Day - urgent support for NPOs amid funding crisis and rising burnout

By Inyathelo

As the global community observes World Health Day on 7 April, under the theme “Together for Health: Stand with Science,” Inyathelo, the South African Institute for Advancement, is raising a critical alarm regarding the sustainability of South Africa’s healthcare non-profit sector and the importance of prioritising the wellbeing of the NPO sector at large.

Feryal Domingo, Inyathelo’s Acting Executive Director explained that not only are they concerned about the devastating impact of continued international funding withdrawals, in particular USAID but also the deteriorating mental wellbeing of the workforce providing these essential services.

The continued withdrawal of USAID and the freezing of PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan For Aids Relief)-funded projects have sent shockwaves through the South African and indeed African NPO landscape. Since the initial funding crises in 2025, scores of health projects have been terminated, affecting thousands of frontline staff and leaving a multi-billion rand gap in the HIV/AIDS and TB response.

“The non-profit sector is the backbone of healthcare delivery in our most vulnerable communities. The withdrawal of USAID support is not just a line item on a spreadsheet. It represents closed clinics, halted mobile services, and millions of South Africans losing access to life-saving treatment and prevention,” said Domingo.

Inyathelo warns that without urgent intervention from local philanthropists and the private sector to bridge this funding cliff, the gains made in public health over the last two decades could be reversed.

Beyond the financial crisis, Inyathelo is drawing attention to the human cost of the current climate. NPO workers are facing a polycrisis, navigating increased regulatory burdens, shrinking resources, and an overwhelming demand for services.

“We are seeing a sector running on empty,” said Domingo. “Our healthcare workers and NPO leaders are experiencing unprecedented levels of burnout and secondary trauma. We must acknowledge that we cannot have a healthy society if the people caring for it are unwell.”

Inyathelo is calling on donors to move beyond project-specific funding and invest in institutional resilience.

This includes:

• Allocating funds specifically for mental health support and wellness programmes for NPO staff.

• Supporting core operational costs to reduce the administrative anxiety of hand-to-mouth survival.

• Fostering a culture of human dignity within the sector that prioritises the servant, not just the service.

  
  

“We urge the South African government and the private sector to recognise NPOs as strategic partners in healthcare. On this World Health Day, the call is clear. We must protect the financial and emotional infrastructure of the NPO sector to ensure that health for all remains a reality, not just a slogan,” said Domingo.