The recent signing of the Global Fund Grant Cycle Seven (GC7), totaling $349 million, marks a pivotal moment in Zambia’s ongoing battle against HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria. As one of the implementation partners, working closely with the Global Fund and the Zambia Ministry of Health, FAH celebrates the unwavering commitment of the Global Fund and its partners towards advancing healthcare access and strengthening health systems in Zambia.
The additional funds applied for were for the grant implementation period of 2024 to 2026, and are geared toward aligning with wider national strategic frameworks. The grants will be used for the timelines associated with the Eighth National Development Plan (2022-2026), the National Health Strategic Plan (2022-2026), and the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals.
The new grants were signed during a ceremony hosted by the government of the Republic of Zambia and Zambia’s Country Coordinating Mechanism.
“With the Fund’s steadfast support, we are empowered to not only combat HIV, TB, and malaria but to overcome barriers, defy odds, and rewrite the narrative of health in Zambia. Together, we are not just dreaming of a healthier future – we are making it a reality, saving lives, preventing infections and ending stigma.” said Sylvia T Masebo, Minister of Health of Zambia.
“The new funds will support programs to tackle HIV, TB and malaria, and strengthen Zambia’s systems for health”, added Linden Morrison, head of the High Impact Africa Department at the Global Fund.
The funds across the four grants also aim at strengthening health systems to support the country’s universal health coverage agenda. The four new grants come in addition to funding from the Global Fund’s COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM) that was introduced to quickly respond to the pandemic in 2020. Additionally, the expansion of the Building Integrated Readiness for Community Health (BIRCH) project for an additional 2 years, a project FAH has been at the forefront of, further supplements these efforts. Joseph Chiluba, representing the Financing Alliance for Health (FAH), highlighted the critical role of community health workers amidst Zambia’s current health challenges. He emphasized, “This is especially important now, when Zambia is facing a triple threat, COVID, Cholera, and drought. We need community health workers now more than ever to mitigate the devastating effects on health.”
FAH’s Commitment
FAH will be one of the leading implementing partners tasked with strengthening community health systems through BIRCH 2.0, contributing immensely to Zambia’s goal of reducing HIV infections, TB, and malaria to zero by 2030. Chiluba added, “After the success of BIRCH 1.0, we are glad to see the project being expanded into another 2 years, thanks to the support of the Global Fund and Ministry of Health.”
The expansion of BIRCH will kickstart next month in April, introducing the remuneration of community-based volunteers via a Mobile Money Payment System, a first for the Zambian government. This innovative approach aims to enhance sustainability and ensure the continued dedication of community health workers.
In addition, FAH will serve as technical advisors for the MOH G-7 funding cycle as well as on sustainability through strengthening of community health systems. FAH will work with MoH to further map additional investment mapping, and through BIRCH will onboard and operationalize 7,898 CBVs to be remunerated, emphasizing the importance of these initiatives in advancing Zambia’s healthcare goals.