Sentebale Annual Report Underscores Exceptional Regional Leadership, Sustainable Impact, Robust Governance and Financial Resilience

London / Maseru / Gaborone – 3 October 2025 – Sentebale today released its Annual Trustees’ Report and Accounts covering the 16-month period from 1 September 2023 to 31 December 2024, a transformational period that laid the foundations for the introduction of more robust governance, stronger programme delivery and financial resilience. The new fiscal year aligns the organisation with the calendar year and global giving cycles.

• The 16-month reporting period was transformational for Sentebale, laying the foundations for stronger programme delivery, robust governance and financial resilience.
• This year, Sentebale has reduced its annual cost base by £1 million through workforce restructuring and contract renegotiations, while retaining 92% of staff in Africa to maintain investment in the high-performing regional team.
• Sentebale has retained 100% of its institutional funders cultivated by the Africa based team with over 70% of Sentebale’s funding goals for the year 2026 now in place.
• Sentebale’s direct support of 78,000 children and young people has continued without interruption, with special thanks to the resourcefulness and focus of the country teams in Lesotho and Botswana.
• Sentebale is now better placed for the future with significant progress made since the year end, including new programme awards in 2025 for the years 2026 and 2027.
• Sentebale worked with strategic advisers to enter the US philanthropic market, generating a $5 million five-year funding pipeline that the charity is now better governed to pursue.
• The long-term structural weaknesses in the finances Sentebale identified in 2023 have been methodically addressed with an emphasis on long-term financial planning.

• Sentebale achieved income of £3.35m (2024 annualised: £2.51million), compared with £3.41m for the 12 months to December 2023.
• Restricted income increased to £1.75m (2024 annualised: £1.31m) from £1.18m in 2023. Unrestricted income decreased to £1.59m (2024 annualised: £1.19m) from £2.23m in 2023.
• Total expenditure in the period was £4.97m (2024 annualised: £3.72m) (2023: 12 months – £3.78m) being broadly similar on a 12-month basis to 2023.

• Fundraising costs accounted for £0.55m (2024 annualised: £0.41m) (2023: 12months – £0.39m), an increase of £0.16m.

• Expenditure on charitable activities was £4.42m (2024 annualised: £3.32m) (2023: £3.40m) maintaining a broadly similar level with the previous year on a 12-month basis.

For detailed commentary, please see pages 43 to 45 of the annual report and accounts.

A major driver of resilience has been Sentebale’s commitment to locally led development. In 2024, the organisation made the strategic decision to anchor its most senior leadership roles in Southern Africa, ensuring decision-making is rooted in the communities it serves. Over 70% of institutional funding comes from within the region, with key partnerships including Diamonds Do Good, National AIDS & Health Promotion Agency (NAHPA), Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), UNAIDS, UNICEF, and The Global Fund.

Sentebale has recently been awarded a significant three-year contract as a delivery partner for the Regeneration of Landscapes and Livelihoods (ROLL) programme, funded by the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in partnership with Lesotho’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

This localisation agenda not only strengthens programmes, it also positions Sentebale as a prime development actor in the region, aligning with funders who prioritise authentic, data-driven, and locally owned solutions.

Reflecting on events since 31 December 2024, the year 2025 has been a period marked by global and regional challenges. Furthermore, the release of this Annual Report and Accounts follows a challenging period in the public eye for Sentebale with the UK Charity Commission’s Compliance Case Review commencing in March 2025 and concluding in August 2025. The Commission ultimately gave the green light for Sentebale’s new board of Trustees to proceed with confidence and address four governance requirements of the Commission’s Action Plan, which have been completed, including:

• Introduction of a new policy and process for addressing internal complaints within the charity, including whistleblowing;
• Implementation of a policy for resolution of internal disputes that is to be enshrined in the constitution;
• Introduction of a code of conduct for defining Trustees’ acceptable behaviour; and
• Implementation of a new approach to trustee recruitment and delegation of responsibilities so that roles are clearly defined, including any future patron relationships.

These outcomes, alongside confirmation by the UK Charity Commission of a validly appointed board of Trustees, reaffirm Sentebale’s position as an organisation with an ability to deliver against the highest standards of governance. Recruitment of further trustees to complement the current Board will commence shortly.

Despite the substantial global media interest and need to dedicate significant time to addressing the UK Charity Commission’s Compliance Case Review this year, Sentebale has remained steadfast in delivering service for 78,000 children and young people (aged 0–24), matching its 2024 impact, with all work continuing unaffected and touching on its three core impact areas of health, wealth creation, and climate resilience. Key highlights in 2025 include:

1. On a monthly basis, reaching over 2,000 children and young people with our monthly Clubs and seasonal Camps programmes, and just under 1,900 caregivers were provided with education and support.
2. In Lesotho, a country with a population of 2.3million, 66,810 adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) received access to core health and social services through the Youth Hub programme.
3. Almost 200 young women received vocational training in Lesotho, including 36 directly placed into internships.
4. Close to 16,000 community members across Lesotho were mobilised to join local interest groups, working together on projects not only to revitalise the natural environment but also to create opportunities for generating capital from the land.
5. Twenty-four (24) youth advocates in Botswana reached almost 500 school children with talks on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, and hosted 12 Radio Positive talk shows on Duma FM, reaching hundreds of thousands of young people across Botswana.

Since the beginning of 2025, following the introduction of new executive leadership based in Southern Africa, the future cost base of the charity has been reduced by an estimated annualised amount of £1m. This restructuring has been achieved through a cost reduction programme across the organisation, including workforce rationalisation with a focus on redundant roles and renegotiation of service delivery contracts to improve cost recovery.

The extended reporting period confirms that despite the lengthened timeframe, Sentebale maintained a flat cost base, while broadening programming reach. With funding already secured through 2026, the organisation enters its 20th anniversary year with a clear runway and a renewed focus on scaling innovation in capacity building for children and young people.

Dr Sophie Chandauka MBE, Chair of the Board, said:

Commenting on the results Dr Sophie Chandauka MBE, Chair of the Board, said:

“This 16-month period marks Sentebale’s bold transformation: building stronger programmes, governance, and financial resilience. Working collaboratively across borders, bottom-up, we tackled structural weaknesses head-on: slashing our cost base by £1 million through workforce restructuring and contract renegotiations, while protecting 92% of our vital Africa-based staff who power our high-performing regional team. We retained 100% of our institutional funders and secured over 70% of 2026 funding goals. Throughout, our direct support for 78,000 children and youth continued uninterrupted – testament to our Lesotho and Botswana teams’ resourcefulness. Since year-end, new 2025 programme awards lock in impact through 2027, while strategic advisers supported us to access the US philanthropic market, generating a $5 million five-year funding pipeline. As we reach our 20th anniversary next year, Sentebale is poised to soar, empowering even more children and young people across southern Africa to claim their futures!”

Carmel Gaillard, Executive Director, added:

“This report reflects more than numbers; it tells the story of lives changed through locally led solutions. By anchoring our leadership in Southern Africa, Sentebale is ensuring that decisions are rooted in the communities we serve, amplifying the voices of young people, and creating pathways to health, opportunity, and self-sufficiency. With funding secured and strong partnerships in place, I am optimistic about the road ahead as we scale innovation and impact.”

Dr Bhakti Hansoti, Trustee, added:

“In the development landscape, credibility is defined by the ability to deliver consistently, even amidst global and regional uncertainty. Sentebale has done just that. The reach of Sentebale’s health programmes, particularly for adolescent girls and young women who continue to be the greatest at-risk demographic, demonstrates that we are not only responding to today’s needs but also shaping healthier futures. As a Trustee and as a global health leader, I see immense opportunity for Sentebale to continue setting the benchmark for evidence-based, community-driven impact.”

Iain Rawlinson, Trustee, added:

“This has been a pivotal period for Sentebale – not only in streamlining our operational and financial model but also in strengthening governance. While the results reflect long-standing faultlines in the charity’s financial model and unexpected shocks and setbacks since 2024, the Board has taken decisive action in 2025 at last to address these issues including reducing the cost base by over £1m annually, reshaping our governance and operating model, and prioritising diversification of income. With a more sustainable framework for the future now in place Sentebale is better positioned to rebuild reserves, reinforce financial resilience, and promote the long-term future of our mission and programmes.”

The full Annual Trustees’ Report and Accounts can be found on the Sentebale website here: https://sentebale.org/annual-reports-accounts/

ENDS

Notes to the accounts

1. The 16-month period to December 2024 included the third and last year of the charity’s drawdown of the one-off donation of US$1.5milion made by its former patron, Prince Harry, in 2021 – representing a proportion of proceeds from his memoir, Spare and allocated towards investment in the quality of programmes over a three year period reported between 2022 and 2024.
2. Since 2021, this support masked two important long-term structural weaknesses in Sentebale’s financial model which remained unaddressed and had given rise to an increasing risk profile for the charity which were as follows:
3. the narrow unrestricted funding base of the organisation, due to corporate support declining in total number and in overall contribution since 2019, reducing overall numbers and levels of high net-worth and family foundations’ engagement since 2020, and limited investment over many years in developing a new donor pipeline; and
4. the high cost of events-based fundraising, coupled with a significant UK headquartered cost base (over £650,000 per year) when compared to other organisations of a similar size and budget in the UK or Southern Africa.
5. Excluding the effect of the one-off donation referred to above, the combination of these weaknesses contributed to deficits being reported in the charity’s reported accounts for six of the seven financial periods from 2017 to 2023, with no strategy being adopted for when the three year investment ran out. These weaknesses were brought to the attention of the Board by the Chair at a formal meeting on 21 September 2023 in the form of a detailed analysis developed with the senior executive teams, which became the evidence base upon which the transformation agenda and urgent approach to activating US fundraising was agreed by the Board. Please see pages 70 to 74 for further detail.
6. Although efforts were made by the senior executive team to address the high cost base of the charity through a cost reduction programme pursued in the Lesotho and Botswana operations in late 2023, these measures were insufficient. They did not address the fundamental long-term structural weaknesses in the overall cost base or the longstanding need to execute a strategy for raising unrestricted funding from a wider range of partnerships and supporters, addressing the single point of failure risk associated with fundraising from events centred around the former patron, Prince Harry.

Sentebale works with children and young people aged 0 -24 in Lesotho and Botswana to create sustainable solutions across three impact areas: health, wealth creation, and climate resilience. Each year, Sentebale directly supports over 78,000 children and young people in Lesotho and Botswana.

• In health, we support young people living with or at risk of HIV through psychosocial care, adherence support, and youth-friendly services.
• To build economic resilience, we provide vocational training, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship programmes that equip young people, especially adolescent girls, with the skills to secure employment, start businesses, and support their families.
• In response to increasing climate-related adversities in a part of the world where people are subsistence farmers and rely on the land, we are a core implementation partner in the regeneration of landscapes and livelihoods (ROLL) across rural Lesotho. These community-led efforts protect natural resources, strengthen livelihoods, and promote long-term sustainability.

For nearly two decades, Sentebale has worked closely with youth, caregivers, and local institutions to design culturally relevant, locally led programmes that empower the next generation of African leaders.

The organisation was founded by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and HRH Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006, in memory of their late mothers. The name Sentebale means “forget-me-not” in the Sesotho language, representing a pledge to remember the most vulnerable children in the region.

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