April 2021 – In April 2020, the Global Fund established the COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM) to support countries to respond to COVID-19 in mitigating its impact on HIV, TB, and malaria programs and strengthening health and community systems. On 7 April 2021, the Global Fund launched the second phase of C19RM. All countries receiving funding from the Global Fund are eligible to receive C19RM funding, including multi-country and non-eligible countries in crisis.
Effective and meaningful community and civil society engagement are crucial for developing a robust response to the pandemic. The COVID-19 Response Mechanism Guidelines specifically call for consultations with “civil society, key and vulnerable populations as well as communities, including those most severely affected by COVID-19”, including those countries experiencing significant disruption.
Eligible Investments for C19RM
- COVID-19 control and containment interventions, including personal protective equipment (“PPE”), diagnostics, treatment, communications and other public measures as specified in WHO guidance;
- COVID-19-related risk mitigation measures for programs to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, including, but not limited to, support for COVID-19 interventions needed to safely implement campaigns, community and health facility-level HIV, tuberculosis and malaria programs and additional delivery and procurement costs for HIV, TB and malaria programs related to addressing COVID-19 disruptions; and
- Expanded reinforcement of key aspects of health systems, such as laboratory networks, supply chains and community-led response systems to address advocacy, services, accountability and human-rights-based approaches.
Applicants can request funding under a combination of the above categories.
The meaningful engagement of civil society, in all its diversity, in the national consultations to develop the country proposal for the C19RM is critical. Civil society can provide valuable data, especially for key populations and harder-to-reach groups, as well as ensure that all relevant partners are engaged and play essential roles in the design, implementation and reporting stages. The proposal must include inputs from the full spectrum of civil society and communities—including NGOs, networks of people living with HIV, people most severely impacted by COVID-19 and key populations, in particular: men who have sex with men (MSM); transgender people, especially transgender women; sex workers; people who inject drugs; people living with HIV; and people in prison and detention.