Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria: A New Legal and Conceptual Framework for Providing International Development Aid
North Carolina Journal of International Law & Commercial Regulation, Vol. 35, p. 173, 2009
60 Pages Posted: 26 Feb 2010
Date Written: February 23, 2010
Abstract
Over the past decade, the development community has witnessed the unprecedented proliferation of innovative mechanisms designed to fund specific global issues. Usually initiated as partnerships between governments, intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, and civil society, these funding instruments address global public goods such as health, environment, and microfinance. These include the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, the Global Environment Facility, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, the GAVI Alliance, the Education for All – Fast Track Initiative, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund).
The appearance of these multilateral funding mechanisms on the international scene has changed the understanding of development. This creation of new vehicles for development funding has also resulted in increased scrutiny of the ways these programs operate to draw lessons for the creation and management of subsequent programs. This article presents the key innovative features of the Global Fund and how these have adapted to changing circumstances since its creation in 2002. The Global Fund was created due to the urgency of combating three of the world’s most devastating diseases – AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria – and the structure chosen resulted from the belief that it should differ from existing bilateral and multilateral aid mechanisms. The Global Fund’s unique legal status, organizational arrangements, concessional financing modalities and resource mobilization mechanisms represent ground-breaking departures from existing financial or development institutions. Although many of the Global Fund's features are designed for the organization’s specific needs, these innovations have a wide-reaching impact, not only on other global financing mechanisms, but more broadly on emerging good practice regarding the management of development aid.
Keywords: Global Fund, international governance, development aid, concessional financing, public health
JEL Classification: I18, K32, K33, O19
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation