The Future of the Global Health Initiatives and the Lusaka Agenda: What it is and Where are We Now?

The Global Fund Advocates Network Asia-Pacific (GFAN AP) and Africa Japan Forum (AJF) co-organised the webinar, “The Future of the Global Health Initiatives (FGHI) and the Lusaka Agenda:  What it is and Where are We Now?” on 9 May 2024. Key speakers included Dianne Steward, the Deputy Director of External Relations and Communications of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund); Katy Kydd Wright, the Executive Director of the Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN); Rosemary Mburu, the Executive Director of WACI Health; and Masaki Inaba, the Co-Chair and International Programme Director of AJF. The webinar was attended by over 30 participants from within and outside of the Asia-Pacific region, including Africa, North America, and Europe.

The webinar was designed to respond to concerns expressed by GFAN AP partners about the limited awareness and engagement of community and civil society in Asia-Pacific on this important global health topic.  Specific to GFAN AP’s priorities are the impacts of FGHI-related discussions and outcomes on health and development financing which will ultimately impact .  Furthermore, as GFAN AP and partners prepare itself to support  the upcoming eighth Global Fund Replenishment, it is imperative that communities and civil society from Asia-Pacific are kept abreast of key discussions on global health financing and are supported for their engagement. 

Initiated at the end of 2022, FGHI aimed to reimagine global health initiatives, address issues of fragmentation and inefficiencies within the current global health approach, and support the evolution and strengthening of the Global Health Initiatives ecosystem with the goal of achieving UHC and broadening global health financing ecosystem.  This 14-month process, which included engagements and consultations with multi-stakeholders, culminated in the launch of The Lusaka Agenda on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) day on 12th December 2023. The development of the Lusaka Agenda and its work-streams will significantly influence the directions of international development aid and funding, including funding to the Global Fund, between now and 2030 and post-2030.  

Speakers and participants shared their analysis and exchanged perspectives throughout the webinar, specifically, risks to the upcoming Global Fund Replenishment efforts against the backdrop of competing global political agendas and the shared observation of deprioritisation of global health by governments around the world; reactions and positions of community and civil society from Africa on the Lusaka Agenda; and the challenges of mobilising domestic health resources for HIV, TB and malaria in Asia-Pacific.

A shared concern expressed by webinar participants and speakers alike was the potential influence of these global-level discussions and outcomes on funding to community-led, community-based organisations and services at the ground level. Specifically, despite the invaluable contributions made by community and civil society in efforts against HIV, TB and malaria, their work continues to be undervalued; community and civil society organisations and groups continue to struggle for adequate and sustainable funding sources. The challenge of community “survival” is compounded by the rapidly shrinking civic space and the rise of authoritarianism around the region and beyond.

Participants agreed on the need to maintain engagements in these global discussions and to guard against the potential of the global health financing ecosystem returning to a model of “government and institutional-led.”

Rachel Ong, the Regional Coordinator of GFAN AP concluded the webinar by acknowledging the concerns raised by the participants and committed to continuing information sharing by GFAN AP and organising of a follow-up discussion with key GFAN AP partners on the specific roles GFAN AP can play in facilitating better AP community and civil society engagements in these key global discussions.

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