The Global Fund, France and Chad Strengthen Their Partnership to Accelerate the Fight Against HIV, TB and Malaria
30 June 2023
N’DJAMENA – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Agence française de développement/Expertise France (AFD/EF) have announced they are renewing and strengthening their program of technical assistance for Chad; it covers the period from 2023 to 2025.
The agreement was signed yesterday, 29 June, at a ceremony in N’Djamena attended by Dr. Abdelmadjid Abderahim, Chad’s Minister of Public Health and Prevention; Ms. Anne-Claire Amprou, France’s Global Health Ambassador; Mr. Bertrand Cochery, France’s Ambassador to Chad; Mr. Vincent Thévenot, Assistant Director of the AFD in N'Djaména, Mr. Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; as well as a number of civil society organizations.
Financed via L’Initiative, the technical assistance program was initially implemented in the country in 2019 by consultants with Expertise France, a division of the AFD. The purpose of the program is to facilitate support for national authorities in accessing grants from the Global Fund and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and to optimize the impact of their fight against the three epidemics affecting the country. Technical assistance is provided in four areas: governance, procurement and inventory management, financial management and audits, as well as monitoring and evaluation.
“Chad welcomes this renewed commitment made by the Global Fund and AFD-Expertise France to work with us to combat HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, and to support our efforts to build sustainable and resilient health systems,” said Abdelmadjid Abderahim, Chad’s Minister of Public Health and Prevention.
“France, through its significant contribution to the Global Fund, and the technical assistance provided by AFD-Expertise France, continues its unwavering commitment to global health,” said Anne-Claire Amprou, France’s Global Health Ambassador. “By joining forces with the government of Chad, civil society organizations in the country and global health partners, we reaffirm our belief in cooperative and coordinated action and our determination to build solid and resilient health systems around the world, but especially in the most vulnerable countries.”
“The technical assistance provided by the government of France has been a source of indispensable support for Chad’s Ministry of Health in terms of implementing Global Fund grants,” said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “We must continue to establish partnerships of this type and encourage, with the help of civil society organizations, even more national investments in health systems in order to strengthen the long-term complementarity of these resources with international financing.”
Through the AFD, France and Chad have been cooperating for more than fifty years. As regards support for health systems, the programs focus on sexual and reproductive rights, strengthening the capacity of health workers, equity and financial protection in accessing health care and the country’s transition to universal health coverage, combating epidemics by way of support for Global Fund grants, managing health crises, as well as early prevention and detection of malnutrition at the community level. In all, the AFD has invested close to €500 million in Chad over the past ten years.
The Global Fund is currently financing three grants in Chad, for a total amount of €122 million, covering the period from 2021 to 2024. Since 2002, programs supported by the Global Fund and its partners, in combination with Chad’s strategies, have reduced by about 66% the number of new HIV infections, and by 60% the number of AIDS-related deaths. The TB treatment success rate is 80% and the percentage of people with access to long-lasting insecticidal nets has jumped to almost 61%, as compared to 8% in 2010.
With a total contribution of €6.05 billion to date, France is the leading European donor to the Global Fund and plays an important role in its governance. Health, education and gender equality are among France’s top ten development priorities. They are also key priorities for the Global Fund. At the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment in September 2022, France pledged to contribute close to €1.6 billion for the next three years, or an increase of 23% over its previous contribution. This strong commitment signals France’s determination to position global health as a priority for French development policy.