What will we do?
The EmpowHER Fund is a dedicated investment in women’s rights and leadership, and a strategic response to the complex challenges young women and girls face. The approach is comprehensive:
- A five-year initiative launching in 2026
- A pooled funding mechanism with annual funding target of 2 million euros
- Advocacy for HIV prevention access and demand creation
- Female and feminist leadership and programming
- Long term project based- & and core-funding support for women’s rights organisations
Join us in creating change!
For this Fund, Aidsfonds serves as a catalyst, aiming to inspire, connect and facilitate its growth into a broader movement. We therefore invite every stakeholder—from grassroots organisations to global health leaders, from individual donors to corporate partners—to be part of a transformative journey. EmpowHER isn’t just addressing HIV prevention; we’re dismantling systemic barriers and empowering women to control their health and futures.
Invest in EmpowHER. Invest in women. Contact Silvia Jongeling, Lead Youth Programmes at Aidsfonds.
2025: The definition phase
In 2025, EmpowHER Fund finds herself in a preparatory phase, focusing on collaborative design and strategic groundwork. This pivotal year is dedicated to shaping the fund’s framework through inclusive stakeholder consultations and engagement, with women at the forefront of every decision. We will develop the fund’s structure, design grant mechanisms, and build a comprehensive network of partners. The first grant cycle will be launched late 2025.
The urgency of the EmpowHER Fund
The HIV prevention landscape has evolved significantly, developing innovative solutions that could transform women’s health. Breakthrough technologies like the daily oral PrEP pill, monthly Dapivirine vaginal ring, two-month injectable cabotegravir, and upcoming long acting innovations Lenacapavir (twice a year), Apretude (every two months) and the dual prevention pill, offer transformative potential to reduce HIV infections among girls and young women. However, the current landscape is marked by significant obstacles.
Women face challenges in accessing HIV prevention. Clinics struggle with supply chain issues, high costs, and regulatory delays, often lacking essential prevention options. Healthcare workers may be untrained or unaware of available methods. Women themselves encounter profound challenges: social stigma, limited awareness, and insufficient resources block their path to protection. Intersecting vulnerabilities —including criminalisation, service exclusion, and safety concerns, shaped by realities of income inequality, sex work, drug use, sexual orientation or gender identity —further complicate access.
Next to this, drastic funding cuts for advocacy and the 82% reduction in HIV program support by the US government, combined with conservative political trends and a shift to male-dominated decision making, further deprioritize women’s health needs. Healthcare access remains limited, and social stigma continues to prevent many from seeking prevention.
