When the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was created in 2002, it was intended to combat the global burden of these diseases while simultaneously delivering aid in new, innovative ways. In 2012, an increasingly austere budget climate has added pressure for the Global Fund to explore new approaches to global health financing and generate better “value for money”—a top concern to global health donors, who want the biggest bang for their buck in terms of lives saved and epidemiological progress. To respond to these needs, the Global Fund is in the process of overhauling its operations and reshaping its funding model, while also seeking to appoint a new Executive Director.
In a new online forum, we have asked prominent thinkers and practitioners what reforms the Global Fund should prioritize and how it should best fulfill its mandate of improving the way development aid is managed in addition to advancing the fight against the three diseases as its Board considers new policies and its new Executive Director prepares to takes office. Our initial posts come from Erin Hohlfelder (Policy Director, Global Health at ONE), Anders Nordström (Ambassador for Global Health at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs), and Prashant Yadav (Director of Healthcare Research at the William Davidson Institute, University of Michigan). We will continue to add new perspectives in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out on the Global Health Policy Blog and the forum’s homepage for updates.
We also welcome you to join the discussion by offering your suggestions on the Forum’s homepage in the comments section. In addition, we hope you’ll check out our Value for Money for Global Health Financing Institutions Working Group to learn more about CGD’s work on improving the efficiency and impact of global health investments. If you have any question about the Global Fund Forum or other CGD work in this area, please contact Kate McQueston (kmcqueston@cgdev.org).