The Global Fund’s Monitoring and Evaluation Framework

Good quality, accurate and complete data is essential for decision-making. It allows in-country partners to make funding decisions and the Global Fund to approve sound investments. Monitoring and evaluation relies on a wide array of systems, tools, methods and approaches to meet the wide-ranging data needs at program, country and organizational level. These systems provide quality data and evidence, which allow us to continue to effectively respond to AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria and to build resilient and sustainable systems for health.

When applying for Global Fund funding, grant implementers submit a performance framework that identifies the indicators and targets the program needs to achieve, together with a monitoring and evaluation plan that outlines how implementers will collect, collate and analyze data. Plans, targets and progress are then overseen by the Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs), the Local Fund Agents (LFAs) and the Global Fund Secretariat to assess grant performance.

The Global Fund Strategy 2023-2028 includes a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Framework that measures progress towards achieving the Strategy’s overall goals and objectives. Independent evaluations by the Global Fund Secretariat complement the framework and provide additional assurance to the Board on grant performance.

The Global Fund’s Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Framework brings together our monitoring frameworks and evaluation areas in order to align our performance measurement with the Strategy. The framework describes the way these different sets of data link together and act in a complimentary manner for the activities supported and undertaken by the Global Fund and our partners, in relation to the goals and objectives of the Strategy.

Monitoring and Evaluation Framework

The objective of this framework is to facilitate performance management, continuous learning and improved decision-making. This is done by providing relevant, comprehensive and timely information to decision makers to support them in improving health program quality, efficiency, effectiveness, and the impact of Global Fund investments.

The Global Fund M&E Framework has four interrelated components:

  • Strategic Monitoring
  • Strategic and Thematic Evaluation
  • Programmatic Monitoring
  • Secretariat Monitoring

These components provide data for different decision making needs in line with the Strategy. This allows us to assess performance both as a whole, and for each of the four components, by providing insights to key overarching questions on our progress towards strategic objectives and goals.

Strategy Framework

Key Overarching Questions for Measuring Performance of the Strategy

Learning

The Global Fund, implementing partners and technical partners produce reports, dashboards and other materials to analyze data from the M&E Framework. These materials are integral to assessing the effectiveness of programs, advocating for change where needed and encouraging course correction to achieve the goals of the Strategy, and to drive learning across the partnership. As an organization committed to continuous learning and improvement, the Global Fund will continue to update and refine frameworks, systems and tools within the overarching M&E Framework in response to the learning and accountability needs of Strategy delivery.

Development of the 2023-2027 M&E Framework

Following approval of the Global Fund Strategy 2023-2028, and based on lessons learned from the previous Strategy period, the Global Fund set out to develop an overarching organizational M&E Framework that would provide the data and evidence required to measure progress towards achieving the objectives and goals of the new Strategy. To achieve this, we embarked on a highly consultative 12-month measurement consultation process with approximately 450 technical experts, many of whom were nominated by the Global Fund Board. These consultations were organized around eleven topics, spanning all objectives of the Strategy, with four sequential workshops for each topic. Our aim was to identify the critical areas where measurement is needed in order to track implementation progress of the Strategy and identify key indicators within these areas.