Fight against pandemics: review of the 5% Initiative

Since 2011, the 5% Initiative has been assisting countries, especially French-speaking countries, in the design, implementation and monitoring-evaluation of the grants allocated by the Global Fund. It operates using two complementary methods.

Channel 1 aims to meet short-term needs for expertise to support the implementation, governance, monitoring-evaluation, design and impact measurement of Global Fund grants. In 2016, the 5% Initiative conducted 80 missions, particularly in West Africa and with public entities.  

During the Global Fund Replenishment Conference in Montreal in September 2016, the French Secretary of State for Development announced an increase in the portion set aside for the 5% Initiative, from EUR 18 million to EUR 25 million a year, thereby recognising the relevance and effectiveness of this capacity building mechanism.

68 expertise projects selected since 2012

Channel 2, for its part, aims to finance long-term projects (2 to 3 years) on themes for which capacity building for the recipient countries is particularly necessary. The aim is to ensure there is a proper implementation of Global Fund grants. Two calls for projects are launched every year.

Since its first call for projects in 2012, the Initiative has selected 68 projects, for a total amount of some EUR 59.5 million.

In 2016, 14 projects were selected on the themes “Strengthening the national and community health system” and “Access to quality healthcare for marginalised populations”.

Today, five years after the first call for projects, it is possible to measure the impact of projects which reached completion in 2016.

Three examples of contributions to the fight against pandemics

The multicentral clinical study conducted by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease in 9 French-speaking countries was released in 2016. It has contributed to developing World Health Organization recommendations on the short-course treatment of multi-resistant tuberculosis.

Furthermore, in DRC, the advocacy actions conducted by Doctors of the World (MDM) have allowed the average cost of an HIV service to be reduced by a factor of three in the entire North Kivu Province.

Finally, in Senegal, the ACCESS project “Inclusive HIV services for universal access”, implemented by Handicap International in Ziguinchor, has created dynamics at national level to take better account of disabled people in the response to HIV/AIDS. It has immediately been followed up with a study which will provide data on HIV prevalence among disabled people nationwide.

More about the 5% Initiative: www.initiative5pour100.fr