[London, 4 February 2026]
Senior leaders across government, philanthropy, business and civil society gathered today at the 2026 UK LGBTQI Global Giving Summit to discuss how UK funders can protect hard-won progress on LGBTQI rights and health, and strengthen collaboration at a time of significant global uncertainty.
Hosted by GiveOut and sponsored by the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the Summit took place against a backdrop of rising anti-rights backlash, increasing criminalisation in multiple countries, and a tightening international funding environment for human rights and public health.
Elton John and David Furnish call for urgent action
The summit was opened by Anne Aslett, Chief Executive Officer of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, who shared a powerful statement from Elton John and David Furnish. With major reductions in global funding, including the dismantling of USAID causing sudden losses for LGBTQI organisations and interrupting life-saving HIV services in multiple countries, participants underscored the urgent need for governments, business and philanthropy to step up together.
The statement from Elton John, Founder, and David Furnish, Chair, of the Elton John AIDS Foundation said:
“Around the world, our community is being denied access to HIV prevention and treatment. The cruelty is staggering: the very people who fought for the science and risked their lives in trials are now locked out of the breakthroughs they helped create.”
For the next generation, HIV prevention and treatment must be a birthright. Denying it is theft, plain and simple. That’s why the UK Government’s global LGBTQI programme matters so much. Leading on equality isn’t just morally right, it’s strategically smart. Human rights strengthen global stability, health security, and democracy itself. Nowhere is that clearer than in the fight against HIV.”
Announcements at the Summit
Olivia Bailey MP, Minister for Equalities said:
“I am proud to announce we are expanding our support for LGBT+ partners around the world.
“This commitment will help organisations across East, West, and Southern Africa, as well as the Pacific and Caribbean withstand rising repression, address escalating physical and sexual violence, and tackle discriminatory laws and policies.
“Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, and we will continue to champion this and push for progress on LGBT+ rights across the globe.”
In her speech, the Minister confirmed that the UK is investing £2 million to expand and strengthen support to frontline LGBTQI organisations through the Equal, Safe and Free Fund, including an uplift of £880,000 to support grassroots civil society in Africa and the Commonwealth. The government also confirmed it is joining an innovative new partnership through an Equality Collaboration led by the Government of Australia.
These commitments will help civil society withstand rising repression, tackle escalating physical and sexual violence, and support advocacy to repeal or reform discriminatory laws and policies. They will also reinforce urgent protection measures – such as safe‑housing, legal assistance, and digital security – ensuring that grassroots LGBTQI organisations across East, West, and Southern Africa, as well as in the Pacific and Caribbean, have the resources and resilience they need to protect their communities in the face of growing backlash against LGBTQI rights globally.
Participants also welcomed the launch of The Reimagining LGBTQI Resourcing Fund, a new collaborative initiative of GiveOut and the Global Fund for Community Foundations. The Fund will support LGBTQI groups to develop, test and strengthen new fundraising and resource-mobilisation strategies that unlock internal, local, diaspora and complementary external support, strengthening the voice, agency and autonomy of grassroots initiatives and the movements they belong to.
Together, these measures signal the UK’s intention to remain a catalytic global partner on global LGBTQI rights, at a moment when many governments are stepping back.
New Research Launched
Participants heard evidence from the newly launched UK LGBTQI International Giving Report (GiveOut and the Elton John AIDS Foundation), the second report of its kind tracking UK funding for international LGBTQI issues across government, trusts and foundations, corporates and individual donors. The report shows that, despite the UK’s outsized global influence, funding for international LGBTQI work remains small, fragile and highly concentrated, meaning even modest cuts or policy shifts can have devastating consequences for frontline organisations and the communities they serve.
The Summit also launched Community Is Resource: Reimagining LGBTQI Resourcing (GiveOut and the Global Fund for Community Foundations), spotlighting how LGBTQI movements are already resourcing themselves through community philanthropy, diaspora giving and mutual aid, and what institutional donors can do to complement these community strategies and strengthen movement resilience against external funding shocks.
Voices from the Summit
Steve Letsike, Deputy Minister for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, South Africa, said:
“Progress on LGBTQI rights has never come from governments acting alone. It comes from partnership, between states, communities, philanthropy and business, and from investing in frontline organisations. In a constrained funding environment, collaboration is not optional; it is essential.”
Anne Aslett, Chief Executive Officer, Elton John AIDS Foundation, said:
“The global fight against HIV has shown us what’s possible when governments, communities and philanthropy work together, and what’s lost when that commitment falters. LGBTQI communities are often the first to feel the impact of funding disruptions, which is why partnership and sustained investment are so critical to protecting lives and hard-won progress.”
Jason Ball, Executive Director of GiveOut, said:
“The funding landscape has shifted, so our response can’t be business as usual. This Summit is about focus and follow-through, bringing government, philanthropy and business together to protect progress, strengthen partnerships, and ensure support reaches organisations closest to the ground.”
Notes to Editors
About the UK LGBTQI Global Giving Summit
The UK LGBTQI Global Giving Summit is a high-level convening bringing together government, philanthropy, business and civil society to strengthen UK and international support for LGBTQI movements worldwide.
About GiveOut
GiveOut is an award-winning international LGBTQI community foundation mobilising resources to support LGBTQI activism worldwide.
About the Elton John AIDS Foundation
The Elton John AIDS Foundation was established in 1992 and is one of the leading independent AIDS organizations in the world. The Foundation’s mission is simple: an end to the AIDS epidemic. The Elton John AIDS Foundation is committed to overcoming the stigma, discrimination and neglect that keep us from ending AIDS. With the mobilization of our network of generous supporters and partners, we fund local experts across four continents to challenge discrimination, prevent infections and provide treatment, as well as informing government strategies to end AIDS.
www.eltonjohnaidsfoundation.org. @ejaf on Instagram.