Global Fund Sets the Agenda
Author:
Madhuri Kamat
Article Type:Article Number: 2
What is on the agenda of the Global Fund Board? As it sets to meet in April 22-24, 2024, what is on the table for discussion is set forth. Here’s a sneak peek.
After the mid-March committee meetings, the Board has shared the draft for its forthcoming sessions scheduled for April 22-24, 2024. This article presents the various topics on the agenda for the Board meetings to be held in Geneva, Switzerland.
But before getting to the heart of the matter, it may be useful to present the composition of the Board and the voting process (Figure 1).
Figure 1
Source: Board Composition of the GHIs
Board Retreat
Prior to the Global Fund Board meeting, occasionally, which is not often, there is what is called a Board retreat. This rare retreat is in the offing this time over two days and will be as always a closed session only for Board members and Alternate Board members of the voting constituencies. The idea is for them to meet over a longer time, away from the main event’s executive sessions, to exchange notes on the wide spectrum of work that the Global Fund covers. It is also to discuss how to effectively meet the coming challenges and what role the Board governance can play to further its own efficacy.
The 51st Global Fund Board Agenda
The meeting formally opens on April 23-24, 2024. What comes before – on April 22, 2024, is a designated pre-day, which begins with Constituency meetings, followed by others as named below.
Three meetings cover Annual reports, namely, of the Ethics Officer, the Independent Evaluation Panel (IEP) (pre-day), and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Global Fund. Funding related meetings include, Updates on Catalytic Investments and Country Funding (pre-day), Collaboration between Global Fund and Gavi and Global Financing Facility, a review of Sustainability, Allocation Methodology, and Resource Mobilization. In between are sprinkled presentations of other reports such as Strategic Performance and Risk, the 2023 Strategic Review, the Global Fund Executive Director, the Global Fund and Lusaka Agenda. The Board’s review is also on the agenda under Governance Performance Assessment.
The agenda clearly distinguishes between «information», «input» and «decisions».
Only For Your Information
Strategic Performance Reporting (4 reports) and Risk Management are for information only. As are the OIG Annual Report on the Global Fund and Agreed Management Actions.
And then come the last on the Agenda for information only:
These are: Electronic Board Decisions approved since December 2023 (see last panel in Figure 1) So, also, the Global Fund’s Financial Performance till December 2023, its Recoveries Report, and Coordinating Group.
For Input
Inputs are welcome for the IEP Annual Report (which the Global Fund proudly showcases as the first one ever) along with its highlights by the Strategy Committee, Allocation Methodology and Work Plan (5 reports), Strategic Review (5 reports in the list), the Global Fund and Lusaka Agenda, and Sustainability Review, which finds itself in the august company of Public Financial Management. There really should be inputs on the latter’s bracketed text that follows this term : «(one plan-one budget-one report)» Really? It sounds suspiciously like another centric One Nation, One Election or One Goods and Services Tax (India), both of which erode federalism and not real collaboration as in One Health (WHO) or embracing all as in One Country, One Spirit (Philippines).
The Board’s review, namely, the Governance Assessment Report requires «input» from the Board to the Ethics and Governance Committee (EGC) on «areas for future attention». There is also a «discussion» mentioned, which is limited to the preliminary findings of the Governance Assessment, which is still a draft report.
Decisions
The decision items are Vector Control Policy, Procurement Policy, and the 2023 Annual Financials and External Audit including the Comprehensive Auditor’s Report.
Pre-Agenda
The Board meet is preceded by multiple «consultative» processes that feed into the numerous reports that the Secretariat churns out (33 at last count is just the number in the Agenda’s Document list), and then there are meet-ups specifically to take decisions on certain items listed in the agenda such as Allocation Methodology, and other funding-related provisions. You can read them all here. And there are meetings of Committees of the Board – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Sidebar
The pre-day lunch also has «side events» added to it. What is a «side event»? At the 49th Board meeting in Hanoi, for instance, there were many : Regional Leaderships and Partnerships for Health, From Research to Program, Partnerships for People-Centered Care for People who inject Drugs, Global Fund Programmatic Performance in Challenging Operative Environments and Responsiveness in Emergencies, Regional Initiative about malaria drug resistance and Malaria Program Risk, Private Sector and Philanthropist reception. However, as of now, only the pre-day has mention of side events that remain unnamed. We have to wait and see.
Refresher Reference
And if you wish to know more of our coverage on the behind the scenes of the Agenda, here are some links:
Global Fund 8th Replenishment: https://aidspan.org/navigating-the-2024-2025-replenishment-era-strategies-for-the-global-funds-8th-replenishment/:
2023 Results Report: https://aidspan.org/the-global-funds-2023-results-report/:
Resource Mobilization: https://aidspan.org/global-fund-resource-mobilization-update/:
Audit & Finance Committee (AFC), Ethics & Governance Committee (EGC) and Strategy Committee (SC): https://aidspan.org/global-fund-committees-are-meeting-this-week/:
Communities, Equity, Human Rights and Gender (CEHRG); resilient and sustainable systems for health (RSSH); pandemic preparedness (PP) and the COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM): Looking ahead to the Global Fund Strategy in Grant Cycle 7:
Challenging Operating Environment Policy and Additional Safeguards Policy: https://aidspan.org/the-global-funds-challenging-operating-environment-policy-and-additional-safeguards-policy-what-do-these-really-mean/:
Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Country Coordinating Mechanism Report:
https://aidspan.org/country-coordinating-mechanisms/:
Strategic Performance Report for 2017-2022 and the adjustments to the 2023-2028 KPI Framework: https://aidspan.org/strategic-insights-reviewing-performance-and-refining-future-goals-in-the-global-fund/
Assessment of the Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) Report:
CCM Positioning
CCM Engagement with civil society, communities and key populations
