By Our Reporter
The Global Fund announced today new guidance to enable
countries to strengthen their response to the new coronavirus, COVID-19, by
using existing grants in a swift, nimble and pragmatic way.
Working within its mandate to fight HIV, TB and malaria and to strengthen
systems for health, the Global Fund is encouraging countries to reprogram
savings from existing grants and to redeploy underutilized resources to
mitigate the potential negative consequences of COVID-19 on health and health
systems. In exceptional cases, countries may be able to reprogram funding from
existing grants to COVID-19 response.
“As was the case with Ebola, the Global Fund is committed to a pragmatic and
flexible approach in supporting countries in the fight against COVID-19,” said
Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “Our priority is to ensure
continuity of lifesaving programs to end HIV, TB and malaria. However, COVID-19
could knock us off track. People infected with HIV, TB and malaria could prove
more vulnerable to the new virus given that their immune systems are already
under strain.”
Strong health systems are critical to help countries respond to COVID-19, and
to reinforce health security. The Global Fund is the largest multilateral
provider of grants to strengthen health systems, investing over $1 billion a
year in key components such as community health workers, disease surveillance
systems, supply chains, laboratory networks.
COVID-19 could derail progress on HIV, TB and malaria, through disruption to
treatment or other interventions or supply chains of critical medicines and
medical supplies. Experience from the 2015 Ebola outbreak in West Africa
suggests that unless mitigating action is taken, additional deaths from
existing diseases such as malaria can be at least as high as those from the
outbreak itself.
The Global Fund strongly encourages countries to consider and take prompt
action under WHO guidance. Particular attention should be given to health
worker protection, communication to affected communities, maintenance of
essential services, supply chain coordination, early replenishment of stocks,
disinfection of assets, and waste management.
Additional activities under the new COVID-19 guidelines include, but are not
limited to, epidemic preparedness assessment, laboratory testing, sample
transportation, use of surveillance infrastructure, infection control in health
facilities, and information campaigns.
The Global Fund will deploy a fast-track decision making process for
COVID-19-related requests for support.
The Global Fund continues to work closely with partners at global, regional and
country levels on COVID-19 preparedness and response, from resource
mobilisation for CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation),
mobilising the private sector, securing the supply of vital medical products
and expediting the development of diagnostics, to support WHO’s overall
leadership of the global response.
