L’Initiative is a French instrument that complements the work of the Global Fund. It aims to accelerate the fight against major pandemics and help countries improve access to high-quality healthcare services
We are a key player in the fight against pandemics
At the turn of the new millennium, the international community came together in a tremendous show of solidarity to combat AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis with the creation of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. France was one of the founding countries and is a major contributor to this partnership in both operational and financial terms.
In 2011, France created L’Initiative in response to the difficulties that certain countries, particularly French-speaking ones, were having in accessing Global Fund grants. The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs devolved implementation to Expertise France, the government agency for international technical cooperation. L’Initiative is a unique tool that supports France’s global health ambitions. Every year, it receives a proportion of France’s contribution to the Global Fund. From an initial allocation of 5%, this rose to 20% for the 2023-2025 triennial.
- €1.6 BN
France’s contribution to the Global Fund
The amount allocated by France to fighting major pandemics reached unprecedented levels for the 2023-2025 triennial.
- 20%
The proportion of this contribution allocated to L’Initiative
With an average of more than €100 million per year for 2023-2025, the L’Initiative budget is unprecedented.
- < 70
The L’Initiative team is here to help
Within the Health Department of Expertise France, our committed, responsible team is available to effectively assist countries, their people, and their healthcare systems.
Customized and sustainable intervention
L’Initiative uses these resources to offer individualized support that is tailored to the needs of stakeholders in partner countries. It helps eligible countries prepare applications for funding from the Global Fund and supports them throughout the process to increase the impact grants have on the ground. Through an in-depth understanding of the field, the L’Initiative teams and external experts work closely with local partners to support them and build capacity. They propose innovative and appropriate solutions to initiate changes in practices and accelerate the response to major pandemics.
We strive to achieve
this ambition in three
different ways:
An original mechanism at the heart of the global health ecosystem
L’Initiative stands out in the partnership landscape of the Global Fund as a result of the originality of its organization and the ways in which it operates.
We provide customized technical and financial support to complement the multilateral aid provided by the Global Fund in forty eligible countries.
Particular attention is paid to French-speaking Africa, making sub-Saharan Africa the program’s priority area.
L’Initiative contributes toward the influence of French and French-speaking expertise in the global health ecosystem. It gives weight to France within the Global Fund and promotes high-level French-speaking experts. With a view to encouraging project ownership, we strive to use experts in beneficiary countries and young experts and aim for gender parity.
L’Initiative’s ecosystem and governance
L’Initiative is:
Complementary to the Global Fund, the international partnership created in 2002 to collectively invest in the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The mortality rate associated with these three pandemics has reduced by more than half since the creation of the Fund. Furthermore, the healthcare programs it has supported have saved the lives of more than 50 million people;
Financed by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, which is responsible for supervising it, setting its strategic direction, and chairing the Steering Committee;
Run by Expertise France, through its Health Department, which includes a team dedicated to the strategic direction and the implementation of projects and programs;
Guided by a Steering Committee that includes the Ministries of Health and Prevention, Europe and Foreign Affairs, Agence Française pour le Développement, representatives of French public health research bodies, and members of civil society specializing in development and cooperation in the field of health;
Strengthened by coordination which other institutions providing international technical assistance (including the World Health Organization, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS—UNAIDS, the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, Stop TB Partnership), as well as other French, French-speaking, and European partners (including ANRS | Emerging Infectious Diseases, the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, foundations, NGOs, and public sector bodies).
Greater capacity
The Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment, which took place in September 2022, opened new horizons for L’Initiative. First, the French contribution to the Global Fund increased considerably, to almost €1.6 billion for the 2023-2025 triennial. Then, the proportion of this allocation devolved to funding L’Initiative also increased, rising from 9% to 20% of the total budget.
This renewed impetus has helped our teams make several strategic and operational changes, aiming to accelerate the response to pandemics and improve access to healthcare everywhere for everyone. Among other things, we have defined new strategic priorities:
Proximity.
Supporting training for healthcare professionals and improving support for access to Global Fund funding for high-quality activities with a lasting impact.
Equity.
Improving access to healthcare in remote areas and for marginalized populations, adopting a human rights-based approach and promoting gender equality in access to healthcare.
Innovation.
Integrating the “One Health” approach into our work, supporting innovation with the creation of “The Accelerator”.
Sharing knowledge.
Producing and sharing knowledge from the results and experiences made possible with L’Initiative’s support, sharing good practices and lessons learned to improve project management and encourage upscaling.