Government to become principal recipient of Global Fund grants

Kathmandu: Nepal’s Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM), a national committee that includes representatives from different stakeholders who are engaged in the response to the three diseases – HIV & AIDS, TB, and Malaria, has decided the government as the Principal Recipient (PR) of the Global Fund grants. 

The national committee on Wednesday unanimously took the decision to channel all funds through the government. 

Nepal is now all set to implement the $60 million project to be effective from August 2024-July 2027, the 7th grant cycle of the fund since 2003. 

The CCM will now write to Global Fund informing the formal decision of the national committee, said Dr Sangita Mishra, additional health secretary at Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) Nepal. 

The tax exemption had become one of the key concerns of the Global Fund, according to the MoHP officials. “The issue was intensively discussed in the CCM meeting. The committee members including representatives from key ministries assured to address the concern through the government system.”

CCM Nepal is an independent entity that is closely guided by the Global Fund policy on structure and functions.

[Related: Nepal’s newly-appointed Health Minister decides to bring activities supported by Global Fund under the government]

Earlier, the CCM published an Expression of Interest (EOI) call for non-government principal recipient (PR). The decision, however, was taken by the CCM as its members agreed that the government is capable of implementing the grant activities, a member of CCM told Nepal Live Today.

“The direct involvement of the government will help to enhance the effectiveness of the grant and align activities with the government’s efforts  to fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria.”

In June 2022, then Minister for Health and Population Bhawani Prasad Khapung also decided to channel the support of Global Fund directly under the government to be effective from 2024.

The grant will be more than Nepal’s newly-appointed Minister for Health and Population Bhawani Prasad Khapung has decided to channel the support of Global Fund, a partnership program designed to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics, directly under the government to be effective from 2024.

The Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) Nepal will now submit the decision of the committee for the national program on HIV, TB and Malaria to the Global Fund.