Across East Africa, cancer is rapidly emerging as a major public health crisis. Late diagnosis, limited access to screening and treatment, fragile referral systems, and shortages of oncology specialists all contribute to poor outcomes. At the same time, the region continues to carry a disproportionate share of the global HIV burden. The biological relationship between HIV and cancer is intimate and deeply intertwined: HIV weakens the immune system, reducing the body’s ability to detect and eliminate abnormal cells and increasing susceptibility to oncogenic viruses such as human papillomavirus (HPV), Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), and hepatitis B and C. This immunosuppression significantly raises the risk of HIV-associated malignancies including Kaposi sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and cervical cancer. In Eastern Africa alone, an estimated over 324,000 new cancer cases occur each year, with more than 10% attributable to HIV infection—underscoring the deadly overlap between the two epidemics. Increasingly, this overlap is affecting children living with HIV (CLHIV), who face compounded biological and systemic vulnerabilities.

For CLHIV, the burden is especially severe and often invisible. Eastern and Southern Africa are home to the majority of the 25.6 million people living with HIV globally, including millions of children who now survive into adolescence and adulthood due to expanded access to antiretroviral therapy (ART). While approximately 79% of people living with HIV know their status, progress remains uneven for children, particularly those in poor and marginalized communities. Poverty, malnutrition, stigma, orphanhood, and limited health literacy further heighten vulnerability, delaying care-seeking and reducing adherence to treatment. Many CLHIV experience delayed HIV diagnosis, interruptions in ART, and minimal access to age-appropriate cancer screening. Pediatric HIV and oncology services are rarely integrated, meaning warning signs of malignancy are often missed or misdiagnosed as common infections. As a result, HIV-related cancers are frequently detected only at advanced stages—when treatment options are fewer, more costly, and less effective—leading to preventable suffering and higher mortality among the most vulnerable children.

Your support can change this;

By donating to AfyaFund, you help close the gap for children living with HIV-strengthening early detection, integrated HIV–cancer care, and child-centered treatment and palliative support. Stand with us to protect young lives, support families, and ensure that no child in East Africa is left behind because of illness or circumstance.

The fight against HIV/AIDS and cancer requires consistent commitment. With your support, AfyaFund can expand awareness campaigns, increase access to testing and screening, strengthen family support systems, and protect vulnerable children from long-term hardship.

When you donate to AfyaFund, you are not just funding a program — you are protecting lives, restoring dignity, and building healthier futures.

Your contribution is more than charity.
It is compassion.
It is impact.
It is a lifeline

We focus on those who often fall through the cracks of traditional health systems, ensuring no child is left behind.