Global Fund Welcomes Lusaka Agenda Recommendations
12 December 2023 โ On Universal Health Coverage Day, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) welcomes the Lusaka Agenda. As the world recovers
from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical to ensure that the global health ecosystem
effectively supports countries to provide health care to everyone who needs it, whoever they are,
wherever they live.
We appreciate the vigorous process during the past year to develop the agenda and we are
supportive of the five key shifts outlined in the report โ many of which are reflected in the Global
Fundโs new six-year Strategy and key performance indicators โ to catalyze the evolution of global
health initiatives.
One of the driving factors behind the creation of the Global Fund in 2002 was the imperative to save
lives from diseases that were crippling the health systems of the poorest countries and to make the
global health ecosystem more responsive to country needs, more equitable and more inclusive for
the affected communities. The Lusaka Agenda echoes the importance of these principles in a
changing global health context today, and the Global Fund will continue to evolve to meet the needs
of the countries and communities where we invest.
The Global Fund appreciates the leadership of the Future of Global Health Initiatives co-chairs,
Mercy Mwangangi and John-Arne Rรธttingen, as well as the participants in the steering group and
task team. We will continue to be an engaged partner in this process and look forward to more
opportunities for coordination and collaboration.
We have already established several wide-ranging workstreams with our partners, including Gavi,
the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Financing Facility, and we will continue to work closely with
long-standing partners such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank and others
to improve the impact of the health ecosystem more broadly to continue to save lives and accelerate
progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal 3 of health and well-being for all.
For example, the Global Fund has been closely engaged with African institutions to support capacity
building for regional manufacturing in Africa, including supporting development of the wider
ecosystem, regional regulatory framework harmonization, accelerated product approvals and
strengthening regional procurement capabilities. Through its NextGen Market Shaping approach,
the Global Fund in partnership with WHO, UNITAID and others, supports efforts to create sustainable
markets across regions, and is committed to accelerating access to quality assured health products
and innovations, supporting regional manufacturing to bring supply closer to high volume demand,
and strengthening and driving increased sustainability of supply chains.
We will also continue our ongoing discussion with our Board on how to best respond to the Lusaka
Agenda within our current grant implementation period, funding envelope and operating model. As
always, the Global Fund will be guided by the needs and priorities of the countries where we invest,
including partner governments, civil society, and the communities we serve.
The statement can be downloaded here.