Aidspan - independent watchdog of the Global Fund and publisher of Global Fund Observer
Aidspan is an international non-governmental Kenya-based organization whose mission is to reinforce the effectiveness of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Aidspan does so by serving as an independent watchdog of the Fund, and by providing services that can benefit all countries wishing to obtain and make effective use of Global Fund financing. Aidspan finances its work primarily through grants from governments and foundations. Aidspan does not accept Global Fund money, perform paid consulting work, or charge for any of its products.
Aidspan provides the following services:
1. Watchdog services
- Watch for and constructively comment on ways in which the Global Fund's leadership, Secretariat or grant recipients may not be living up to the Fund's founding principles.
- Communicate findings publicly (via Global Fund Observer) or privately, as appropriate.
2. Publication services
- Global Fund Observer (GFO), a free email newsletter providing news, analysis and commentary to nearly 10,000 subscribers in 170 countries.
- Aidspan Guides, a series of free publications providing detailed practical advice to those applying for, overseeing or implementing Global Fund grants.
3. Web services
- The Grant Details, Analysis and Evaluation pages on Aidspan's web site, a comprehensive on-line resource for comparing the performance of Global Fund grants.
- More web services (forthcoming).
4. Facilitation services
- Global Fund Round Tables for global health leaders and advocates.
- More facilitation services (forthcoming).
Aidspan Spotlight
Aidspan's facilitation services are provided in both developing and developed countries. In developing countries, Aidspan works with others to increase the number of viable grant applications that are submitted to the Global Fund, to strengthen the effectiveness of Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs), and to improve the chances that grants are effectively implemented. In developed countries, it works with others to improve the chances that more money will be given to the Global Fund.
Aidspan's Grant Details, Analysis and Evaluation pages show how well each Global Fund grant is performing against its own goals and in relation to other grants. Based on in-depth data automatically downloaded from the Global Fund's website on a regular basis, the system offers both a graphical and a tabular assessment of the performance of each grant.
Global Fund Observer (GFO) is a widely-read, authoritative and free email-based newsletter, produced by Aidspan, that provides an independent platform for news, analysis and commentary about the Global Fund to nearly 10,000 subscribers in 170 countries.
Global AIDS and the Global Fund
Since its inception, the Global Fund has approved 844 grants, of which 501 have been extended to Phase 2 (Years 3 and beyond).
The most recent agreement for a new grant was signed on 15 December 2012, providing an initial amount of $3,380,957 for a project in Panama.
The most recent agreement to extend a grant beyond its initial 2-year period was signed on 22 December 2011, providing $1,877,652 for a Malaria project in Bolivia (Plurinational State).
Funding has been distributed by disease component and by region as follows:
| Approved funding by disease component | |
|---|---|
| HIV/AIDS | $12.22 billion |
| Malaria | $6.45 billion |
| TB | $3.82 billion |
| HIV/TB | $0.21 billion |
| HSS | $0.19 billion |
| Approved funding by region | |
| East Africa | $5.57 billion |
| West and Central Africa | $3.56 billion |
| Southern Africa | $3.51 billion |
| East Asia and the Pacific | $3.37 billion |
| South Asia | $1.94 billion |
| Eastern Europe and Central Asia | $1.91 billion |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | $1.55 billion |
| North Africa and the Middle East | $1.48 billion |
For details of individual grants, country-by-country information, indications of which grants are ahead of or behind schedule, and more, visit the Grant Details, Analysis and Evaluation pages on this site.
Recent News
Michel Kazatchkine announced today that he will "step down" as Executive Director of the Global Fund by mid-March. He said that his planned resignation resulted from a decision by the Global Fund Board two months ago to appoint a General Manager who will supervise many Global Fund activities and who will report direct to the Board. GFO understands that this decision by the Board to transfer many of Dr Kazatchkine's responsibilities to someone else arose from the Board's concern that the Fund's managerial leadership was not sufficiently effective.
Concerns have been expressed that the Global Fund's new policy on percentage-based overhead costs for international NGOs, adopted in April 2011, excludes national NGOs, except in very limited circumstances, and that there is no equivalent policy for national NGOs.
The Global Fund's decision to cancel Round 11 was a hot topic at the International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 4-8 December 2011. Demonstrators called for more spending on health from African governments.
The English-language version of "The Aidspan Guide to Applications under the Global Fund's Transitional Funding Mechanism" is now available. French-, Spanish and Russian-language versions should be posted by the end of January.
Recent News
Michel Kazatchkine announced today that he will "step down" as Executive Director of the Global Fund by mid-March. He said that his planned resignation resulted from a decision by the Global Fund Board two months ago to appoint a General Manager who will supervise many Global Fund activities and who will report direct to the Board. GFO understands that this decision by the Board to transfer many of Dr Kazatchkine's responsibilities to someone else arose from the Board's concern that the Fund's managerial leadership was not sufficiently effective.
Concerns have been expressed that the Global Fund's new policy on percentage-based overhead costs for international NGOs, adopted in April 2011, excludes national NGOs, except in very limited circumstances, and that there is no equivalent policy for national NGOs.
The Global Fund's decision to cancel Round 11 was a hot topic at the International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 4-8 December 2011. Demonstrators called for more spending on health from African governments.
The English-language version of "The Aidspan Guide to Applications under the Global Fund's Transitional Funding Mechanism" is now available. French-, Spanish and Russian-language versions should be posted by the end of January.
Recent GFO Highlights
"This is a significant and even bewildering time for the Global Fund," says Dr David McCoy. "It is undergoing not just a financial and fiduciary crisis, but also a process of transformation. And multiple agendas are in play... While it is too early to predict the final impact of all the changes, given their unclear (and, at times, contradictory) nature, there is still opportunity to shape the eventual outcomes of the transformation."
"I founded Aidspan, publisher of GFO, nearly ten years ago," says Bernard Rivers. "It's time for me to hand over leadership to someone else. I strongly believe that no founder should run his or her own organisation for more than a decade. If you are interested in this role, or know others who might be, please consider applying. You will be providing a real service to Aidspan, and to future GFO readers, if you engage in some creative thinking about who should apply."
"Tougher rules will not necessarily mean better programmes and outcomes," writes Angela Kageni in a critique of the Global Fund's Consolidated Transformation Plan. "Nevertheless, during this period of change, we should not dwell only on what has gone wrong and how this has to be fixed; rather, we should also focus on the positive things that could emerge from the transformation that is underway."
Unlike what some news reports have suggested, the Global Fund has billions of dollars in the bank, with billions more expected to arrive during the next two years. The problem is that most of that money will be needed for the current and renewal phases of existing grants. In addition, the Fund has introduced a more cautious methodology for estimating how much funding it will receive in future. These are the two main reasons why the Global Fund now estimates that until 2014, it will have almost no money for new grants, and why the Fund cancelled Round 11. It is not accurate to say that Round 11 was cancelled because of decisions by donors since May 2011 to cancel, reduce or delay their pledges, because that is not happening.
"The Global Fund is renowned for its almost militant policy of transparency. But when something really important happens, something with enormous consequences for grant applicants, implementers and potential beneficiaries around the world, don't rely on the Global Fund to tell you about it."
Recent GFO Highlights
"This is a significant and even bewildering time for the Global Fund," says Dr David McCoy. "It is undergoing not just a financial and fiduciary crisis, but also a process of transformation. And multiple agendas are in play... While it is too early to predict the final impact of all the changes, given their unclear (and, at times, contradictory) nature, there is still opportunity to shape the eventual outcomes of the transformation."
"I founded Aidspan, publisher of GFO, nearly ten years ago," says Bernard Rivers. "It's time for me to hand over leadership to someone else. I strongly believe that no founder should run his or her own organisation for more than a decade. If you are interested in this role, or know others who might be, please consider applying. You will be providing a real service to Aidspan, and to future GFO readers, if you engage in some creative thinking about who should apply."
"Tougher rules will not necessarily mean better programmes and outcomes," writes Angela Kageni in a critique of the Global Fund's Consolidated Transformation Plan. "Nevertheless, during this period of change, we should not dwell only on what has gone wrong and how this has to be fixed; rather, we should also focus on the positive things that could emerge from the transformation that is underway."
Unlike what some news reports have suggested, the Global Fund has billions of dollars in the bank, with billions more expected to arrive during the next two years. The problem is that most of that money will be needed for the current and renewal phases of existing grants. In addition, the Fund has introduced a more cautious methodology for estimating how much funding it will receive in future. These are the two main reasons why the Global Fund now estimates that until 2014, it will have almost no money for new grants, and why the Fund cancelled Round 11. It is not accurate to say that Round 11 was cancelled because of decisions by donors since May 2011 to cancel, reduce or delay their pledges, because that is not happening.
"The Global Fund is renowned for its almost militant policy of transparency. But when something really important happens, something with enormous consequences for grant applicants, implementers and potential beneficiaries around the world, don't rely on the Global Fund to tell you about it."
Recent Publications
Description:
The Aidspan Guide to Applications under the Global Fund's Transitional Funding Mechanism is designed to assist applicants with questions on the proposal form that may not be entirely clear and to provide guidance on how responses to the questions can be structured and what needs to be included to ensure a full response.
Unlike the guides Aidspan has produced for the last few rounds of funding, which were in two volumes, The Aidspan Guide to Applications under the Global Fund's Transitional Funding Mechanism covers everything we think applicants need to know in a single volume. Also, there is no separate version of the guide for multi-country applicants because the proposal forms for single- and multi-country applicants are almost identical.
The English- and Spanish-language versions posted below were updated on 19 January 2012 to incorporate two minor changes to the text. The changes are explained on the cover of the revised guide. When the French- and Russian-languages versions are posted, they will incorporate the changes. .
Table of contents:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: What's New for Applications under the TFM?
Chapter 3: General Information on the TFM Applications Process
Chapter 4: Guidance on Specific Sections of the TFM Proposal Form
Chapter 5: Guidance on the Attachments
Download options:
| English |  806KB |
 452KB |
| Español | 749KB |
526KB |
Description:
This 10-page document reviews a published academic study on the long-term costs and health impact that would result if the Global Fund continues its support for programmes providing antiretroviral therapy to 3.5 million people. The document provides a summary of the study's design and methodology, and then presents and discusses the study's findings.
Download options:
| English | 549KB |
308KB |
Recent Publications
Description:
The Aidspan Guide to Applications under the Global Fund's Transitional Funding Mechanism is designed to assist applicants with questions on the proposal form that may not be entirely clear and to provide guidance on how responses to the questions can be structured and what needs to be included to ensure a full response.
Unlike the guides Aidspan has produced for the last few rounds of funding, which were in two volumes, The Aidspan Guide to Applications under the Global Fund's Transitional Funding Mechanism covers everything we think applicants need to know in a single volume. Also, there is no separate version of the guide for multi-country applicants because the proposal forms for single- and multi-country applicants are almost identical.
The English- and Spanish-language versions posted below were updated on 19 January 2012 to incorporate two minor changes to the text. The changes are explained on the cover of the revised guide. When the French- and Russian-languages versions are posted, they will incorporate the changes. .
Table of contents:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: What's New for Applications under the TFM?
Chapter 3: General Information on the TFM Applications Process
Chapter 4: Guidance on Specific Sections of the TFM Proposal Form
Chapter 5: Guidance on the Attachments
Download options:
| English | 806KB |
452KB |
| Español | 749KB |
526KB |
Description:
This 10-page document reviews a published academic study on the long-term costs and health impact that would result if the Global Fund continues its support for programmes providing antiretroviral therapy to 3.5 million people. The document provides a summary of the study's design and methodology, and then presents and discusses the study's findings.
Download options:
| English | 549KB |
308KB |