zeGOgroup
& the Global Fund
A model worth saving
The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is an international public-private partnership created in 2002 to dramatically increase resources to fight three of the world's most devastating diseases, and to direct those resources to areas of greatest need. This unique partnership has become the major source of financing in the fight against these 3 diseases, and to date some 22 billion USD have been awarded to 600 programs in 150 countries.
The Global Fund is currently in the grip of a massive institutional and financial crisis which is threatening the lives and health of millions of people worldwide.
And yet the Fund's unique model is as relevant today as when it was conceived 10 years ago. We need to take a close look at the results, understand the origins as well as the complex issues at the heart of the current crisis, and find ways to solve it. We must not throw out the baby with the bathwater...
Building capacity
The Global Fund model of performance-based financing, with responsibility not only for setting targets but also optimizing use of funds placed squarely in the hands of beneficiary countries, by definition sets very high standards of national performance, not only clinical but also strategic and organizational.
Since its inception, the need for technical assistance to beneficiary countries has increased exponentially, along with the number and amounts of grants awarded.
As a financing mechanism, the Global Fund has deliberately limited its role as technical support provider, consequently the responsibility primarily of technical and financial partners, bi- and multilateral agencies and international NGOs.
Increasing impact
From the outset, we have been supporting Global Fund recipients in over 30 countries in:
- Strategic and operations planning, gap analysis
- Proposal writing
- Emergency/short-term support to CCMs and Principal Recipients (in particular with the USAID-funded Grant Management Solutions project)
- Consultant and technical partner training
- Mid- to long-term support (CCMs, Principal and Sub-recipients…)
- Civil Society strengthening (CSAT, Réseau Afrique 2000)
- Contribution to development, pilot phase and launch of the Grant Dashboard, including training of consultants and technical partners
While acknowledging the sometimes spectacular results of short-term technical support (notably in the areas of grant consolidation and signing, meeting Conditions Precedent, achieving compliance with Global Fund requirements, paradigm shifts…), it is nonetheless a fact that few opportunities currently exist to build on these results and ensure sustainability.
There is therefore a real need for innovative ways to bridge the gap – and zeGOgroup offers just such a radically different approach to sustainable systems strengthening. We aim to make development a reality.
