Additional Funding From C19RM and the New Pandemic Fund
09 February 2023
The new Pandemic Fund, hosted by the World Bank, was recently launched to support pandemic preparedness efforts in countries that the Global Fund supports. The first call for approximately US$300 million seeks proposals by 19 May and will focus on three areas: comprehensive disease surveillance and early warning, laboratory systems and human resources, and public health and community workforce capacity, which are also C19RM strategic priorities.
As countries are already using C19RM to fund longer-term Pandemic Preparedness and Response (PPR) and RSSH needs, which encompass the specific focus areas of the Pandemic Fund, we encourage countries to be ambitious in their C19RM Wave 2 funding requests and to consider working with the Global Fund to apply for additional funding from the Pandemic Fund.
Countries can express interest for Pandemic Fund funding in collaboration with the Global Fund in two ways. First, countries can indicate interest in securing funding from the Pandemic Fund via the Global Fund as part of their application to C19RM Portfolio Optimization (PO) Wave 2. This means countries will only need to submit one funding request, and any investments that cannot be funded through C19RM can be considered for funding via the Pandemic Fund. Alternatively, countries can express interest directly to the Pandemic Fund and note the Global Fund as an Implementing Entity. Since there is significant overlap in the investment areas supported by C19RM and the Pandemic Fund, we encourage countries to take an integrated approach to determining their priorities and developing funding requests. Countries can also choose to access the new Pandemic Fund in collaboration with any of the other approved Implementing Entities.
However, countries should note that requests to the Pandemic Fund will be subject to the Pandemic Fund’s own requirements, review and approval, so a successful application cannot be guaranteed. Moreover, the basis on which the Global Fund is able and willing to act as an “Implementing Entity” has yet to be determined by the Global Fund Board, and will be determined, in large part, by the extent to which the Pandemic Fund’s requirements can be accommodated within existing Global Fund processes and without compromising key principles. Yet, by indicating that that they would like their C19RM PO Wave 2 funding request to be considered for funding via the Pandemic Fund, countries can avoid the extra workload from submitting separate funding requests and can maximize the synergies between investments funded via the different sources.
Proposals to the Pandemic Fund will need to ensure linkages to the International Health Regulations (2005) and other internationally endorsed legal frameworks, and place emphasis on projects that catalyze additional financing, incentivize countries to increase their own efforts, and promote coordination with key PPR and RSSH stakeholders. This includes definition of operational planning priorities based on WHO International Health Regulations (IHRs), joint external assessments (JEE), and national action plans for health security (NAPHS), or related PPR operational plans.
See more information on the Pandemic Fund in the Expression of Interest document.
Deadline: Countries can send an Expression of Interest form directly to the Pandemic Fund by 24 February, and can indicate interest in applying to the Pandemic Fund through a C19RM funding request by 12 May.