Guidance for Sustainability & Transition Analysis for the Global Fund
THE PROBLEM
The Global Fund (GF) strongly recommends that all countries, regardless of their stage of development or their proximity to transition from Global Fund financing, focus on sustainability considerations across a number of dimensions. Moreover, the Fund encourages that countries strengthen sustainability planning and prepare in advance for transition from Global Fund financing. For Upper Middle-Income countries regardless of disease burden and all Lower Middle Income Countries with low disease burden, advanced preparations for reductions and the eventual phasing out of Global Fund support are particularly essential.
To support countries to assess their level of readiness for transition of Global Fund support and to undertake robust national planning, the Global Fund has built out a Transition Readiness Assessment (TRA) Guidance originally prepared in 2017 by Aceso Health and APMG Health, Inc. Since the Guidance was originally developed, the Global Fund has added a wide range of Technical Briefs, Best Practice Cases, and a Guidance Note on Sustainability, Transition, and Co-Financing (STC) with useful core material and annexes related to the three diseases and other areas of relevance to Transition, including: Health Product Management (HPM), Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), and Public Financing of Civil Society Service Provision (also known as “Social Contracting.”).
In this context, the updated Guidance focuses on laying out the basic approach to transition readiness assessment and planning. Depending on the specific transition risks and challenges facing a given country, consultants and national stakeholders should look at the in-depth guidelines and examples for each of these areas.
THE PHAROS SOLUTION
The Global Fund engaged Pharos to develop an updated Sustainability & Transition Analysis Guidance. Our team reviewed scores of Global Fund reports, guidance notes, and new initiatives. With the updates from Global Fund, UNAIDS, WHO, and others, we updated each module of analysis and introduced a new module: Optimizing the Sustainability Analysis and Planning, Country Engagement, and Integration into National Processes. Moreover, in line with the new strategic vision of the Global Fund, the Guidance has been expanded from only TRAs specifically to include other forms of analysis for the Sustainability and Planning of National HIV and TB Responses.
LOOKING AHEAD
This Guidance has been published by the Global Fund, and is accessible to stakeholders, consultants, and other experts across the globe. As the Global Fund continues to employ this method of analysis, this Guidance can be used to ensure high-quality detailed analyses with strong country ownership.
Status: Completed, April 2021
Team Members Involved: Robert Hecht, Shan Soe-Lin, and Nathan Isaacs
For more information, contact Robert Hecht at [email protected].