Global Health
Global Fund Board Makes Strategic Decisions to Adapt to the Changing Global Health Landscape – Press Releases
The Global Fund’s Board of Directors makes strategic decisions to fulfill the changing global health landscape
A framework to strengthen risk management and a mechanism to enable more sustainable access to approved health products
– The Executive Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) concluded its fifty fifth meeting on July 9-10 by approving two key measures to strengthen the partnership’s capability to make a greater impact in a rapidly changing global health landscape.
The meeting began with a mirrored image on the primary six months of 2026. In the ultimate yr of the seventh grant cycle, the cost-effectiveness of implementation at this stage is higher than ever before, despite a lot of disruptive events. Lenacapavir, a brand new breakthrough innovation in HIV prevention, has already been introduced in nine countries this yr. By the top of May, 20,000 people had received this preventive drug, and by the top of June that number had greater than doubled to 49,000 people. Additional innovations within the fight against tuberculosis (TB) and malaria – latest point-of-care tests and spatial repellents – are also advancing in collaboration with countries and technical partners.
As countries prepare to implement Grant Cycle 8 (GC8) (2027-2029) on a shortened timetable, there may be a powerful give attention to the difficult trade-offs required by reduced grant allocations. The initial funding applications bear in mind latest strategic changes, including the mixing of health services towards a stronger primary care approach and preparations for clear transition timelines: 61 disease components in 35 countries and three multi-country countries will stop to learn from Global Fund support under GC8 and 21 disease components in 12 countries within the ninth grant cycle.
“We are at a pivotal moment for global health,” said Roslyn Morauta, chairwoman of the Global Fund board. “Countries face increasing pressures from conflict, extreme weather events and disease outbreaks, while the global financial landscape becomes increasingly constrained and uncertain. These challenges make our mission to end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria no less important. They demand that we make bold choices, manage risk wisely and do everything we can to help countries build stronger, more self-sufficient health systems.”
In 2025, the Global Fund managed roughly $1.2 billion in procurement, including grant-funded health products value $1.02 billion to greater than 80 countries through the Joint Procurement Mechanism. A key a part of supporting countries in transition is ensuring they proceed to have access to the lifesaving health products negotiated under the Global Fund’s market shaping strategy.
To this end, the Council approved a brand new policy to expand access to inexpensive, quality-assured health products through the Global Fund procurement platform using financing beyond Global Fund grants, helping countries maintain reliable access to essential medicines and health products as they move towards greater self-reliance. To support this initiative, the Council also approved a separate, self-sustaining financing mechanism that introduces bridge financing for countries that can’t pay upfront. The mechanism will include an advance payment mode to support countries and reduce access barriers.
“As countries take on greater responsibility for financing their own health systems, they should not lose access to affordable, quality-assured health products,” said Bience Gawanas, vice-chairman of the Global Fund board. “Today’s decision builds on one of the Global Fund’s greatest strengths, enabling us to support countries and partners with the market shaping expertise and purchasing power they need to transition to more sustainable and resilient health systems.”
The Board also updated the organization’s risk appetite framework, strengthening its commitment to creating informed and impact-based decisions in an increasingly complex operating environment.
The Secretariat presented its 2025 Annual Risk Management Report, which shows that while the Global Fund stays institutionally resilient and effectively manages key risks throughout 2025, it operates in an increasingly volatile and constrained environment that is anticipated to deteriorate in 2026.
The Board approved an updated risk appetite framework to strengthen the Global Fund’s ability to make informed and impact-based decisions in an increasingly complex operating environment. The revised framework shifts the main focus from monitoring risk to actively managing it, ensuring clearer management, clearer decision-making and earlier identification of emerging risks.
The Global Fund Secretariat presented a plan to implement the GC8 Strategy inside the operational expenditure envelope approved by the Council of USD 930 million. To maximize the impact of accessible resources, the Secretariat has proposed a two-pronged transformation strategy that mixes immediate cost-saving measures – including travel restrictions, voluntary early separations, and optimization of assurance activities – with long-term changes to the Secretariat’s operating model, including more tailored country support, greater use of automation and artificial intelligence, shared services models, and other operational improvements.
The third update to the Executive Director selection process reports that the choice process is on schedule and has successfully progressed from candidate contact to the formal assessment phase.
The Board reviewed the Office of Ethics’ 2025 annual report and opinion, which concluded that the Global Fund continues to have a powerful ethics and integrity framework, that the risks under the organization’s control are appropriately managed and that there are not any known, unresolved ethical violations. The report also highlights the necessity to adapt to a more complex operating environment by strengthening a risk-based approach, leveraging technology and supporting a culture of ethics and accountability across the partnership.
The Council discussed opportunities to strengthen the effectiveness of the Global Fund’s governance model to make sure it’s fit for purpose in a rapidly changing global health landscape. Discussions focused on making governance more responsive, effective and strategically focused by streamlining processes, reducing duplication, clarifying decision-making and preserving the partnership’s defining principles of inclusion, representation and trust.
The Council received the 2025 Annual Report of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), which concluded that the Global Fund is well-managed and well-controlled and has no material vulnerabilities that prevent it from achieving its objectives. At the identical time, the report identifies a rapidly changing operating environment that can require organizations to adapt by prioritizing implementation, strengthening national funding, streamlining its operation and adopting a more strategic approach to risk management in GC8.
The Board discussed the proposed approach to a brand new evidence and learning model, which goals to deliver faster, more relevant and cost-effective evidence to support decision-making across the Global Fund. The need for a brand new approach responds to recommendations from the OIG audit and focuses on more closely integrating evidence and findings into organizational planning and decision-making processes, while continuing to depend on independent assessments where they add essentially the most value. The Secretariat received essential input that helped shape the work that followed.
The panel discussion prior to the Board meeting on the evolving global health ecosystem included Dr. Jean Kaseya (African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Dr. Joe Phaahla (on behalf of the East Africa and West and Central Africa Board members), Dr. Edem Adzogenu (AfroChampions/Accra Reset), Katy Kydd Wright (HeAR-CSO Project/Global Fund Advocates Network), Dr. Peter Piot (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine/Accra High-Level Reset Panel), Dr. Bruce Aylward (World Health Organization) and Dr. Joy Phumaphi (African Leaders Malaria Alliance) to debate how global health partnerships must adapt to fiscal constraints, changing geopolitics and increasing demands for country ownership. Speakers highlighted stronger national and regional leadership, clearer roles and responsibilities, and the continued importance of the Global Fund’s multi-stakeholder partnership model, underscoring the necessity for a more agile, coordinated and country-led approach to sustaining long-term health gains.
“The global health landscape is changing rapidly, but our collective commitment to saving lives remains unchanged,” said Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund. “By strengthening partnerships, supporting national leadership and focusing on innovation and impact, we can work together even more effectively to deliver better health outcomes, ensuring that life-saving innovations reach the people who need them most, while maximizing the impact of every dollar.”
The Board discussed the Global Fund’s role within the evolving global health ecosystem, emphasizing the importance of strengthening the organization’s operating model, deepening partnerships and contributing to broader global health reforms. The discussion highlighted the importance of leveraging the Global Fund’s comparable strengths, including country ownership, community leadership, market shaping and joint procurement, to cut back duplication of effort, strengthen collaboration and maximize impact on the people and communities the partnership serves.
The Board also reviewed progress in strengthening collaboration with key partners, including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to raised align support to countries and simplify the way in which they access healthcare financing and services. The two organizations have identified priority areas for cooperation, including reducing administrative burdens, coordinating support for malaria and health systems, exploring joint approaches to TB and latest TB vaccines, and improving operational efficiency. These efforts aim to assist countries implement more integrated, effective and sustainable health programs, while supporting broader reforms across the worldwide health ecosystem.
The next meeting of the Management Board can be held at the top of October. At this meeting, the following Executive Director can be elected, and the brand new Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Board will begin their terms immediately upon completion of the election process.