The three regional applicants included in the Global Fund’s list of nine early applicants for the transition phase of the new funding model are all new. None of them have applied before. One of the applicants, the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN) is a regional organisation (RO). The EHRN HIV proposal is expected to cover nine countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. EHRN will be able to access about $6 million. Another applicant, the Regional Malaria Elimination Initiative in Mesoamerica and Hispaniola, may submit as a regional coordinating mechanism (RCM), but this is not yet confirmed. If it does not submit as an RCM, it will submit as an RO. This is a new initiative of the Council of Ministers of Health from Central America and Dominican Republic (Comisca), supported by the Pan American Health Organization, the Gates Foundation and Mexico. The initiative covers seven central American countries – Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Belize – plus Dominican Republic and Haiti. The Regional Malaria Elimination Initiative will be able to access about $10 million. The third applicant, the Regional Artemisinin Resistance Initiative, will submit as either an RCM or an RO. This malaria initiative covers four countries in Southeast Asia: Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. The Regional Artemisinin Resistance Initiative will be able to access about $100 million.
The information for this article was obtained from the Global Fund Secretariat.