Health Systems Funding Platform

The Health Systems Funding Platform (the Platform) was established in 2009, at the recommendation of the High Level Taskforce on Innovative International Financing for Health Systems, as one way to accelerate progress towards the health Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 on reducing child and maternal mortality.

The Platform brings together GAVI, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund), and the World Bank, with facilitation from the WHO, linking their support behind developing countries' national health plans.

Its aim: to streamline health system strengthening (HSS) support and align with country budgetary and programmatic cycles by supporting:

• One comprehensive health plan, that integrates both domestic funding and international aid;
• One joint assessment of the national health strategy;
• One budget;
• One tracking system for funds.

Making health dollars go further

The Platform is not a global pool of health funds: funds will still flow from the participating financiers. However, integrating support from the largest providers of support for health system development does have the potential to make health dollars go further in developing countries:

• administrative costs will fall thanks to better coordination among funders, both around existing funding and new requests for funding, reporting, financial management, monitoring and technical support;
• there will be fewer duplicative initiatives in any single country;
• fiduciary risk will be reduced;
• countries will be able to leverage additional funding for HSS.

The Platform and GAVI

All GAVI countries can apply for funding through the Platform, which will eventually be the channel for all GAVI HSS support, to help achieve greater immunisation outcomes.

Principles

The Platform is in line with the principles of the Paris Declaration of Aid Effectiveness on national ownership, alignment with national systems, harmonisation between agencies, managing for results, and mutual accountability.

The Platform is open to other agencies and partners, both at the global and central level.

More on this topic

From the GAVI site

Health system strengthening support

 

The health systems goal

 

Health system strengthening review

From other sites

• High Level Taskforce on Innovative International Financing for Health Systems

• World Bank | Health Systems Funding Platform

• World Bank | Health System Strengthening Workshop, 25-27 June 2009

In Ethiopia, Nepal, Uganda and Vietnam, where new planning cycles started, the Platform partners worked with governments and civil society to assess national health plans and develop new ways of harmonising and aligning health system strengthening (HSS) support.

Application process

Together with the Global Fund, GAVI is developing two funding modalities for HSS support, which will enable countries to submit a funding request template or common proposal form to the two agencies.

In addition to preparing for new HSS grants through the Platform, GAVI is reviewing its HSS portfolio in line with the Platform principles.

GAVI and the other Platform partners are currently working to harmonise and align their HSS support to Benin, Cambodia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

More on this topic

From the GAVI site

Health system strengthening support

 

The health systems goal

 

Strengthening health delivery systems

 

Health system strengthening review

From other sites

• World Bank | Health Systems Funding Platform

• World Bank | Health System Strengthening Workshop, 25-27 June 2009