Global Fund releases its 2018 Eligibility List based on eligibility criteria:
- Income classification (based on World Bank [Atlas Method]) with classifications Low Income Countries (LICs), Lower-Middle Income Countries (LMICs), and UpperMiddle Income Countries (UMICs)
- Disease Burden (from WHO and UNAIDS)
- NGO rule (additional criteria for HIV component only)
Twelve components are newly categorised as “not eligible” on this list after receiving transition funding. These components were already ineligible for regular funding and are qualified to receive transition funding for the 2017-2019 allocation period. From Asia and the Pacific, Sri Lanka’s malaria component is already classified as not eligible.
Changes in income classification status have also been made. From Asia and the Pacific, this includes Cambodia (low-income to lower-LMI), Mongolia (UMI to upper-UMI), Papua New Guinea (from lower-LMI to upper-LMI), Samoa (upper-LMI to UMI), and Timor Leste (upper-LMI to lower-LMI).
Please note that this list will not affect the 2017-2019 allocations but may serve as precedent as we move towards the next cycle of funding allocation by 2020-2022.
Global Fund has also identified countries that received funding from the 2017-2019 allocation with UMI classification or countries with LMI classification with low or moderate disease burden must begin planning towards eventual transition. While this does not mean that the countries, as listed below, will not transition soon, addressing bottlenecks as early as possible will ensure that ongoing efforts under the Global Fund grant will be sustained domestically.
Countries from Asia and the Pacific that were identified are as follows:
UMIC: Malaysia (HIV), Marshall Islands* (HIV, TB), Palau (TB), Samoa* (HIV, TB), Thailand (HIV, TB, malaria), Tonga (HIV, TB), Tuvalu* (HIV, TB)
LMI countries with low or moderate disease burden classification: Bangladesh (HIV, malaria), Bhutan (HIV, malaria), Kiribati* (HIV), Lao PDR (HIV), Micronesia Federal States* (HIV), Pakistan (malaria), Philippines (malaria), Sri Lanka (HIV, TB, malaria**), Timor Leste (HIV), Vanuatu* (HIV, TB)
Global Fund has also published a list of country components that are projected to transition fully from Global Fund financing by 2025 due to improvements in income classification and current eligibility criteria. Please note that this list is non-binding and is released for purposes of informing countries to prepare their eventual transition from Global Fund support.
Highlighted below are countries from Asia and the Pacific.
* Small island economies. These countries are encouraged to plan for transition even though UMI countries in this group are eligible for all components regardless of disease burden as per the Global Fund’s Eligibility Policy
Notes:
** Ineligible and received transition funding for 2017-2019
For more information, visit The Global Fund website.