1. Accessibility of Funds from GF Geneva
2. Accessibility of Funds by Sub-Recipients and Sub-Sub-Recipients through Principal Recipients

1. HOW TO ACCESS FUNDS FROM GLOBAL FUND, GENEVA

The Global Fund's Proposals Process in Brief

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) provides grants on a discretionary basis in support of technically sound and cost-effective interventions for the prevention of infection and the treatment, care and support of persons infected and directly affected by HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. In response to the Call for Proposals for the Global Fund, Country Coordinating Mechanisms ("CCM"s), which are organized with the participation of public and private organizations involved in fighting the three diseases in the affected countries, and/or other entities, prepare proposals and submit them for review and approval for funding. Proposals are submitted to the Secretariat for the Global Fund (hereinafter "the Secretariat") according to the Global Fund Guidelines for Proposals (hereinafter "the Guidelines") as published and regularly adapted by the Secretariat. The Secretariat forwards eligible proposals to the Technical Review Panel (TRP) for review. Following the review by the TRP, proposals are graded in four categories to be submitted for Global Fund Board approval: Category 1 - recommended for approval without changes; Category 2 - recommended for approval with minor changes; Category 3 - not recommended in its current form, but strongly encouraged to re-submit following major revision; and Category 4 - rejected.

The Global Fund provides grants to locally-developed programs to prevent and treat AIDS, TB and malaria. Countries and organizations may apply for funding by submitting proposals in ongoing funding rounds.
The following is a brief description of the Global Fund's grant-making process:

1. Global Fund Secretariat announces call for proposals.
2. Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) prepares proposal based on local needs and financing gaps. As part of the proposal, the CCM nominates one or a few Principal Recipients (PR). In many cases, development partners assist in the preparation of proposal.
3. Secretariat reviews proposals to ensure they meet eligibility criteria; forwards all eligible proposals to the Technical Review Panel (TRP) for consideration.
4. TRP reviews all eligible proposals for technical merit and makes one of four recommendations to the Global Fund Board: (1) fund; (2) fund if certain conditions are met; (3) encourage resubmission; and (4) do not fund.
5. Board approves grants based on technical merit and availability of funds.
6. An Internal Appeal Mechanism allows applicants whose proposals were rejected in two consecutive rounds to appeal the second decision.
7. Secretariat contracts with one Local Fund Agent (LFA) per country. LFA certifies the financial management and administrative capacity of the nominated PR(s). Based on LFA assessment, the PR may require technical assistance to strengthen capacities. Development partners may provide or participate in such capacity building activities.
   
   The strengthening of identified capacity gaps may be included as conditions precedent to disbursement of funds in the grant agreement between the Global Fund and the PR.
8. Secretariat and PR negotiate grant agreement, which identifies specific, measurable results, to be tracked using a set of key indicators.
9. Grant agreement signed. Based on request from Secretariat, the World Bank makes initial disbursement to PR. PR makes disbursements to sub-recipients for implementation, as called for in the proposal.
10. Program and services begin. As the coordinating body at the country level, the CCM oversees and monitors progress during implementation.
11. PR submits periodic disbursement requests with updates on programmatic and financial progress. LFA verifies information submitted and recommends disbursements based on demonstrated progress. Lack of progress triggers request by Secretariat for corrective action.
12. PR submits fiscal year progress report and annual audit of program financial statements to Secretariat through the LFA.
13. Regular disbursement requests and program updates continue, with future disbursements tied to ongoing progress.
14. The CCM requests funding beyond the initially approved two-year period. The Global Fund approves continued funding based on progress and availability of funds.