Partnership Between the Global Fund and GBCHealth Launched at the Private Sector Side Event of the World Economic Forum on Africa on 5 September 2019 in Cape Town

This month, GBCHealth signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Global Fund with the aim of strengthening supply chain management across the globe in cooperation with the members of the Private Sector Delegation (PSD) to the Board of the Global Fund and other companies committed to investing their resources and capabilities to increasing the number of lives saved from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

The initiative was launched earlier this month in Cape Town, South Africa, at a private sector side event of the World Economic Forum on Africa (WEF). The launch coincided with the PSD Annual Retreat, which was hosted by Global Fund Board member Sherwin Charles of Nando’s/Goodbye Malaria.

Nancy Wildfeir-Field, President of GBCHealth, took the stage and introduced the initiative alongside four private sector partners that announced new co-investment pledges for the Global Fund’s Sixth Replenishment. These pledges included one from PSD member Goodbye Malaria – which is supported by Nando’s, an international restaurant group founded in South Africa –who pledged R85 million (approximately USD 5.5 million) to the Global Fund to expand a grant that aims to eliminate cross-border malaria transmission in Mozambique, South Africa and Eswatini.

The new platform will be coordinated by GBCHealth and is intended to grow to include a diverse range of sectors. This collaboration is the result of conversations and efforts amongst the PSD over a number of years, as the Global Fund, GBCHealth and the PSD have worked to identify means in which PSD member companies can provide added value to the Fund and further support the Fund’s objectives.[1]

“The private sector has unparalleled knowledge and expertise to contribute to supply chain management,” said Nancy Wildfeir-Field, President of GBCHealth. “This new partnership represents the continued commitment of GBCHealth and the private sector to supporting the Global Fund in innovative ways, especially as it enters the next Replenishment. We believe this partnership creates new avenues for companies to tap into some of their core competencies and step up the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria.”

Initiative Details

Following on the partnership agreement with the Global Fund, GBCHealth will establish the platform as a framework for collaboration that will strengthen in-country procurement and supply chains. This will be accomplished through in-kind contribution of services and financial support for capacity-building activities provided by the companies mobilized by GBCHealth for the benefit of the Global Fund and their grant implementers in order to increase the number of lives saved from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The partnership will also support longer-term capacity-building, collection and dissemination of best practices, and talent development for sustainability.

This partnership is designed to align with the concept of country ownership, a core principle of the Global Fund which prioritizes national ownership and country-led initiatives. It’s also aligned with the goal of sustainability, focusing on the ability to scale services up to a level that will provide continuing control of public health problems even after the explicit work of the partners is done.

The Private Sector & the Global Fund

Private sector partnerships are critical to the success of the Global Fund. The private sector brings crucial skills, innovation, know-how and funding to the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria. Private sector partners can play a pivotal role supporting new product development by contributing funds, technical expertise, training, governance and advocacy that help build health systems, enhance the impact of Global Fund-supported programs and ultimately improve the lives of millions of people.

This year, the Global Fund embarked on its Sixth Replenishment process to raise at least USD $14 billion which will contribute towards saving 16 million lives, cutting the mortality rate of the three diseases in half, and the development of stronger health systems by 2023. The private sector’s role in Global Fund programs leading up to the Replenishment presents exceptional opportunities for the acceleration of progress towards SDG 3 through building and strengthening resilient systems for health; reinforcing health security; and tackling inequalities in health including gender and human rights related barriers to access, among others. GBCHealth serves as the official Focal Point to the Global Fund PSD.

[1] The initiative will operate in countries where the Global Fund operates and has identified supply chain strengthening needs, including but is not limited to: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, DRC, Côte d’Ivoire, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.