Our mandate
France is the second largest contributor to the Global Fund after the United States, and created L'Initiative in 2011 to maximize the impact of Global Fund grants, by providing expertise to upstream and downstream activities, at the request of beneficiaries.
Our mandate is to support beneficiary countries in the design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of funding allocated by the Global Fund to Fight HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
L'Initiative helps to build more effective responses to pandemics and enhance the impact on populations. It is committed to building the capacity of civil society structures, national programs and regional organizations. It mobilizes expertise from France and French-speaking countries adapted to the needs of eligible countries and represents a bilateral approach to aid within the context of France's contribution to multilateral funds, thereby enhancing the visibility of French interventions.
L'Initiative is led by the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, and is implemented by Expertise France's health department.
Since its inception, L'Initiative has established itself as a key player in the fight against pandemics. It will be stepping up its efforts in 2020-2022 to better fulfil its missions and maximize its impact.
As an indirect French contribution to the Global Fund, the Initiative is entrusted each year with a proportion of France's contribution to the Global Fund, i.e. an average of 25 million euros per year over the triennium 2017-2019. In 2017, the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) commissioned a strategic evaluation of its activities over the 2011-2016 period.
This study highlighted the relevance of its action, its coherence with the programmes of the Global Fund and its influence on the strengthening of health systems in recipient countries. It also made recommendations for increasing and sustaining its effectiveness.
Following the 6th Replenishment Conference in Lyon in October 2019, L'Initiative's overall budget has increased considerably, to nearly 39 million euros annually for the period 2020-2022. In line with this development, new terms of reference were signed in early 2020 between the MEAE and Expertise France. They formalise important changes: its allocation has risen to 9% of France's contribution to the Global Fund, its scope of intervention has been refocused on 40 eligible countries and its mechanisms are being deployed as closely as possible to the challenges and needs (planned technical assistance, resident expertise, extended duration of funding). Another significant step forward in 2019 will be the adoption of its strategic framework for 2020-2022.
