Global Fund gets $15.7bn approval to fight HIV, TB, malaria

THE board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria secured the Seventh Replenishment outcome of $15.7 billion to fight HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in Nigeria and other endemic countries.

This comes two months after a successful pledging conference in New York that secured pledges of over $14.3 billion, and days after obtaining additional pledges from donors including India, Italy, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

Donald Kaberuka, chair of the Global Fund Board described the $15.7 billion funding as a remarkable achievement, especially in the context of a tough global economic environment. He said it is a testimony to the work of the Global Fund and the urgency to continue the fight against the three pandemics.

“I offer my thanks to all those who have contributed to the Global Fund, including both public and private donors. I am particularly struck by the record number of implementer governments – at least 20 – that have stepped up to become donors as well. The fight to save lives, defeat pandemics and build a healthier, more equitable and more inclusive world, is a winnable one,” he said.

Thanks to the Replenishment outcome, the Board approved ambitious investments totaling $13.7 billion, including $518 million for catalytic investments and $13.2 billion in country allocations – to more than 120 countries over the next three-year period to support countries to fight HIV, TB and malaria and strengthen their systems for health.

Countries will be informed how much Global Fund-supported grant funding they will each receive for the next cycle in December 2022.

As the Global Fund begins implementation of the new strategy, the board approved a new monitoring and evaluation framework to measure the impact of the investments and ensure performance is rigorously tracked and reported over the next Strategy period.

To deliver on the ambitions of the new Strategy, the board reiterated its commitment to do more to advance gender equality, promote and protect human rights and strengthen the leadership of communities affected by HIV, TB, and malaria in the fight against these diseases.

According to Roslyn Morauta, the vice-chair of the board, attention to gender is a critical and cross-cutting component of the strategy.

“We need to step up efforts in addressing gender-related barriers in access to health services and to ensure that gender considerations inform all programming. We recognize the need for stronger gender expertise and representation at the country level, as well as more nuanced, localized data, including genderdisaggregated data, as a driver of progress,” she said.

Javier Bellocq, board member of the communities delegation noted that communities, including those of women and girls, are agents of change and leaders that play a central role in strengthening responses to HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria. They reach, educate and link people, including those who are neglected, marginalized, or criminalized.

“We must bring the new Strategy to life, saving more lives, and putting people and communities at the center of the response,” he said.

Praising the vital role played by the partnership in supporting low- and middle-income countries’ responses to COVID-19, the board also approved the extension of the COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM) until the end of 2025 to allow countries to invest the remaining funds in line with their evolving priorities as they continue responding to COVID-19, mitigating the pandemic’s impact on the three diseases, and strengthening systems for health and pandemic preparedness.

Since the establishment of the mechanism in April 2020, nearly $5 billion has been raised to support the Global Fund’s fight against COVID-19, and $4.4 billion has already been awarded to support 125 countries and regional programs responding to the pandemic.

Recognizing the Global Fund’s central role in fighting pandemics, the board also discussed how the Global Fund can best continue to contribute to the global pandemic preparedness agenda in coordination with the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and other partners.

Focusing on the Global Fund partnership’s distinctive strengths in shaping global health product markets and the imperative to accelerate equitable access to innovative medical products, including by stimulating the development of local manufacturing, the Board discussed the Global Fund’s market shaping approach developed in partnership with Unitaid and other partners and agreed to continue making the Global Fund’s online procurement platform wambo.org available for non-global Fund-financed orders by governments and development organizations on a variety of products.