News Releases

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria issues second call for Proposals in 2002 - Improved Guidelines for Funding released

02 July 2002

GENEVA, 2 July 2002. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria issued today this year's second call for funding proposals from partnerships in countries hardest hit by the three diseases. The closing date for submission of proposals is 27 September and the Board will award grants in January 2003. The Fund also released a revised set of guidelines to better conduct potential recipients through the application procedure.

The Global Fund is an independent, public-private partnership set up in January this year with the aim of making more global resources available to combat the world's deadliest diseases that kill six million people each year. To date, more than US$ 2 billion have been pledged to the Fund from donor and developing countries, the private sector, private foundations and individuals. In April the Fund announced its first round of grants to programs to prevent and treat the three diseases in severely affected countries. A total of US$ 616 million over two years were awarded to 58 programs in 43 countries, including three multi-country proposals.

"We have learned a great deal during the first round of grant applications, and will continue to make the application process more effective," said Dr. Chrispus Kiyonga, Chair of the Global Fund's Board and Minister without Portfolio of the government of Uganda. "In view of the urgency, the Global Fund needs to strike a balance between acting quickly to disburse funds, while at the same time developing new and more effective ways of ensuring resources will have maximum impact."

Dr. Kiyonga acknowledged that in acting quickly to distribute more funding, while also developing more effective systems to coordinate activities and measure results, some aspects of the Global Fund's proposal process are still evolving based on the first round experience.

"We are responsive to questions that are raised about the guidelines, and constantly work to improve upon them. This is the best way to move quickly in dispersing grants while also working to create an important new mechanism for building partnerships within countries. They increasingly provide us with an effective means of implementing projects and monitoring its results," said Dr. Kiyonga.

One of the main features of the revised guidelines is more clarity for potential grant recipients about the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM), a major innovation of the Global Fund to award grants. In order to submit a proposal, applicants are required to work through a CCM, a country partnership that includes representatives from governments, civil society, and people affected by the diseases. Particular procedures are in place for countries in special circumstances.

Traditionally, governments and civil society have received financial support separately from different donors, without always making efforts to coordinate their activities to avoid duplication. The new process being developed by the Global Fund intends to help ensure that potential grant recipients in any country work together to develop a common plan and proposal.

The new proposal guidelines are more refined and become more user-friendly, Increased attention is also given to identify the specific results each proposal will achieve. To improve transparency and accountability, the Fund requires more specific program and budgeting information for the second round.

Participants from the first round requested an extended preparation period. Responding to this request, the time for preparing proposals has now been extended to three months.