The Global Fund’s strategic initiatives focus on deliverables and outcomes

Author:

David Garmaise

Article Type:

Article Number: 7

All but one of the 14 initiatives are in the implementation phase

ABSTRACT All but one of the Global Fund’s 14 strategic initiatives are now in the implementation phase. The Secretariat says that each initiative has a “sharp focus” on deliverables and outcomes. The strategic initiatives, which have a budget of $194 million, are part of the Fund’s catalytic investments.

In operationalizing its strategic initiatives, the Secretariat has ensured that each initiative has a “sharp focus” on deliverables and outcomes, with strong accountability for delivery, a spokesperson for the Secretariat says.

“In all Strategic Initiatives, release of the funds is contingent on the implementing entities fulfilling deliverables that are objectively verifiable and are on the critical path for delivery on the outcomes,” Peter Hansen, Head of the Technical Advice and Partnerships Unit, told Aidspan.

The strategic initiatives are one of three streams of funding in the $800 million catalytic investments pool. Strategic investments have a budget of $194 million. The other two streams –– multi-country approaches and matching funds –– have budgets of $250 million and $356 million, respectively. (The breakdown of the $800 million has changed a few times since the catalytic investments were first announced.)

There are 14 separate strategic initiatives (see the table for details).

Table: List of Global Fund’s strategic initiatives

Name and Objective	Total budget ($ million)	Approved by GAC ($ million)
TB: Finding Missing TB Cases Address specific barriers to finding missing tuberculosis cases; develop innovative approaches to accelerate case finding; scale up tools and approaches	10	10
MALARIA 1: Malaria Elimination Accelerate efforts in 21 countries to achieve the Global Technical Strategy for Malaria to eliminate malaria in at least 35 countries by 2030	7	7
MALARIA 2: Catalyzing Market Entry of New LLINs Introduce new technologies in Africa to counter the threat of insecticide resistance (in conjunction with $33 million matching funds for catalyzing market entry of new LLINs)	2	1
MALARIA 3: Piloting Introduction of RTS S,S Malaria Vaccine Contribute to the development of an updated WHO policy recommendation on the use of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine in young children in sub-Saharan Africa	15	15
RSSH 1: Community, Rights and Gender Build upon progress made in strengthening engagement of civil society and communities most affected by the three diseases in Global Fund processes	15	15
RSSH 2: Sustainability, Transition and Efficiency Accelerate the implementation of Global Fund’s Sustainability, Transition and Co-Financing Policy	15	15
RSSH 3: Technical Support, South to South, Peer Review and Learning Support health systems and effective HIV, TB and malaria programming	14	14
RSSH 4: Data Systems, Generation and Use Strengthen health information systems and surveillance; enable country systems to collect, report on and use data; support program impact and thematic evaluations and epidemiological reviews	20	20
PSM 1: Diagnosis and Planning Strengthen countries’ diagnosis and planning; support countries to use methodologies and tools to assess procurement and SC systems; support countries in data analysis and systems planning	20	20
PSM 2: Innovation Challenge Fund Support research, development and testing of SC system models; support development of new tools and guidance for evaluating SC systems; promote adoption of modern SC technologies	10	0
PSM 3: Developing local resources Support capacity building in countries for development and implementation of national guidance and best practices PSM; support inter-country collaboration and sharing	12	12
PSM 4: Pre-Qualification of Medicines and In Vitro Diagnostics Ensure products international quality, safety and performance standards	12	2
TERG: Prospective Country Evaluations Document the results of Global Fund-funded programs and share lessons learned	22	22
Emergency Fund Support the provision and continuity of essential prevention and treatment services for HIV, TB and malaria during emergency situations that cannot be funded simply through the reprogramming of existing grants	20	N/A
Total	194	153

 

Of the total budget of $194 million, initiatives totaling $153 million have been approved by the Grant Approvals Committee (GAC) and are in the implementation phase. One initiative –– the Innovation Challenge Fund –– is still under development. The $20 million Emergency Fund does not require GAC approval; these funds go through the Executive Grant Management Committee and are administered by the Grant Management Division.

Of the $194 million total, just under $50 million is being administered by the World Health Organization (WHO) through a Cooperative and Financial Agreement, which was announced by the Global Fund. When it approved the funding for strategic initiatives, the Board mandated that for three of the initiatives –– Finding Missing TB Cases, Piloting Introduction of RTS S,S Malaria Vaccine, and Pre-Qualification of Medicines and In Vitro Diagnostics –– the funding be given to the WHO. The Secretariat has asked the WHO to also provide technical support for the Malaria Elimination strategic initiative as well as parts of three RSSH strategic initiatives.

The Global Fund has signed agreements with the WHO, Stop TB and Roll Back Malaria. In the case of two strategic initiatives –– Malaria Elimination and Finding Missing TB Cases –– the agreements link financing directly to measurable improvements in health outcomes at country level.  For Malaria Elimination, the WHO will receive the funding in full only if the countries identified as priority achieve measurable milestones on the path to eliminating malaria, based on reductions in the number of malaria cases. For Finding Missing TB Cases, the WHO and Stop TB will receive the funding in full only if an additional 1.5 million missing TB cases are found in the 13 countries that are part of the initiative (Bangladesh, DRC, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, Tanzania and Ukraine).

The first progress updates from the technical partners are expected at the end of this month.

Aidspan has reported separately on the Community, Rights and Gender Strategic Initiative here and here.