Policy Brief Raises Concerns About New Funding Model

Author:

David Garmaise

Article Type:

Article Number: 5

ABSTRACT The Eurasian Harm Reduction Network has released a policy brief on the implications for countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the Global Fund’s new funding model.

The Eurasian Harm Reduction Network has released a policy brief on “The Global Fund’s New Funding Model: What It Might Mean for You and Your Country.” The brief is based on research in four countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA): Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Uzbekistan.

Although labelled a “policy brief,” the publication includes a detailed description of the new funding model (NFM). It also includes a section on the implications of the NFM for middle-income countries (MICs) and most-at-risk populations in the EECA, and a section on other concerns related to the NFM.

In its brief, the EHRN said that it appears the NFM will result in fewer and more restricted opportunities for countries and people in need in the EECA. The EHRN points out that all but two of the 18 countries in the region expected to be eligible for Global Fund support are classified as MICs and that, of these 16 countries, all but one are expected to be placed in the fourth of four country bands under the NFM system. The EHRN is worried that Band 4 will not receive a significant share of the resources. (Editor’s Note: The Global Fund has not yet determined which countries will be allocated to which bands under the NFM, nor how  available resources will be divided among the bands.)

The policy brief described four additional concerns about the NFM:

1. There is a lack of awareness about the NFM within countries, organisations and communities that depend on Global Fund support in the EECA.
2. The NFM’s country dialogue process is unclear.
3. The NFM places ceilings on available support.
4. The Global Fund’s use of national income and disease burden as the only two main allocation criteria is a “blunt tool” that cannot truly indicate where the greatest needs are.

The policy brief includes recommendations to address the concerns described in the publication.

English and Russian versions of the policy brief are available here.