Study Details

Evaluation of the Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria: Results from Study Area 1 of the Five-Year Evaluation

Author(s)

Barnes V.  Lissfelt J.  Rockwood J.  Cantor D.  Dude B.  Bachrach P  Sarriot E.  Ryan L 

Date

 2007
Reference

None 

Web Link

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Organisation

Global Fund (GF)
Technical Evaluation Reference Group (TERG)
Keywords

Global Fund, human resources, CCM, governance, financing
Study Type

Study Area 1 (of 3) of a five year external evaluation of the Global Fund in 16 countries (Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, Peru, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia)

Aims

To review the Global Funds organizational efficiency and effectiveness, its progress to date, and to identify critical areas for improvement.
Methods

Methods of data collection included interviews at the Global Fund Secretariat and Board levels and with global stakeholders. More than 100 individuals were interviewed, but there is limited information on how these interviews were conducted, how consistency was achieved, and how the information was recorded, collected, and analysed.

Findings

Successful start-up of the Funds programs reaching 113 countries within 5 years, but its role is not yet fully defined. Further significant findings are listed below.

  • Strong performance and competency in disbursement, performance-based financing (PBF), and fostering innovative partnerships (including Civil Society), but lack of a clear strategy on partnerships or a business plan that will implement the Funds founding principles
  • Roles, responsibilities and goals of Technical Partners (e.g. the WHO) and partners with country presence (e.g. UNAIDS, international non-government organisations, and bilateral donors) not sufficiently well-defined
  • Less than 5% of topics addressed by the Funds Board were on partnerships or impact
  • Resource mobilisation successful but 90% from large bilateral donors
  • The Funds Secretariat operates with less than 50% of its authorised ceiling
  • Complicated system for grant management and review of applications
Conclusions /
Recommendations

  • Strategy: review the vision, mission, and business plan of the Fund including a differentiated approach to countries based on epidemiology, country capacity, and CCM functionality, and benchmarks for resource allocation (what are the minimum standards for effort; how will technical assistance be resourced; what are the relative technical contributions of partners?)
  • Governance: clearly articulate the roles of its main partners (including Civil Society); focus on strategic decision making; be clearer about precisely what assistance could be given to resource-poor constituencies to enable them to participate
  • Organisational reform: set new budgetary ceilings for the Secretariat
  • Establish a medium-term plan for human resources within the Fund
  • Grant management: streamline significantly its grant review process and reduce delays in disbursement by committing funds for longer, and by reviewing approval process; and utilise the PBF system to provide incentives for good performance
  • Systems: strengthen its financial tracking to include M&E at sub-recipient level and within its procurement unit; and strengthen the information systems strategy
Sponsored by DFID, Danida, Irish Aid