Resources

As countries prepare Global Fund Grant Cycle 8 (GC8) funding requests in an increasingly constrained financing environment, there is growing emphasis on strategic prioritization, integrated service delivery, and measurable impact. At the same time, elimination of vertical transmission (EVT) of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B remains an important public health priority with significant potential to improve maternal and child health outcomes.Integrating elimination of vertical transmission into Global Fund Grant Cycle 8 funding requests: A strategic planning and implementation guide for countries aims to help country teams align EVT priorities with evolving Global Fund guidance, strengthen integration across service delivery platforms and systems, and identify practical opportunities for phased implementation and sustainable scale-up. Complementing companion resources developed by partners, including CHAI and Evidence Action, this resource provides practical support for strategic prioritization, integrated service delivery, readiness assessment, and phased implementation planning to strengthen EVT within broader maternal, newborn, adolescent, and child health (MNCAH) and primary health care (PHC) platforms.The guide includes:strategic framing and investment rationale for EVT within GC8practical guidance for prioritizing and integrating EVT investments across MNCAH and PHC platformsmapping of EVT interventions and system needs across relevant GC8 modules to support planning, budgeting, and implementationa five-step approach for implementation planning, readiness assessment, and iterative scale-uplinks to companion tools, illustrative indicators, and implementation resources to support country actionThe guide was developed to support ministries of health, Country Coordinating Mechanisms, Global Fund Principal Recipients, civil society organizations, and technical partners engaged in GC8 country dialogue, proposal development, budgeting, and implementation planning. By positioning EVT within broader MNCAH and PHC systems, this guide aims to support countries to develop more integrated, strategic, and implementation-oriented GC8 funding applications.This guide was developed by SAFEStart+, a four-year initiative funded by and implemented in partnership with Unitaid by PATH, the International Community of Women living with HIV Eastern Africa, and the World Hepatitis Alliance.

PATH partners with governments, civil society organizations, and advocates to advance health equity by informing evidence-based policymaking and funding decisions. We leverage technical expertise and deep relationships from country to global levels to design and shape impactful policies, ensure effective implementation, and strengthen capacity along the way.

This project overview describes the Strengthening Health through Integrated Environmental and Climate Data (SHIELD) initiative, a Wellcome–funded research project focused on improving climate and health decision‑making in Malawi and Pakistan. It outlines the project’s rationale, design principles, partnerships, and core work packages, highlighting how integrated, ministry‑hosted data services can support timely, actionable public health responses to climate risks.

An executive roundtable convened senior representatives from over 30 organizations, including development partners, regional organizations, and financing institutions, to examine financing across the diagnostics value chain. Discussions highlighted that diagnostics for LMICs remain underfunded and constrained by fragmented financing and gaps in critical evidence, particularly on development costs, market size, demand, and health and economic impact, and identified priority actions to strengthen the investment case, improve cost data, and better coordinate financing to accelerate impact.

This first publication in the PATH-Impact Global Health Co-authored R&D Blindspots Policy Series examines a pressing question for the continent: is research and development truly delivering Africa’s vision for health security and sovereignty?Drawing on global R&D funding data, disease burden estimates, and clinical trial activity, the report examines how R&D investment patterns, clinical trial activity and leadership in Africa, and progress toward local manufacturing and regulatory readiness align with Africa CDC priority diseases.Taken together, the findings reveal a mixed picture. While downstream manufacturing capacity is expanding rapidly, upstream R&D pipelines, African‑led clinical research, and coordinated regional innovation strategies continue to lag. This imbalance points to a growing risk that health sovereignty remains a political commitment rather than an operational reality, without the research foundations required to sustain it.The snapshot concludes with targeted policy recommendations focused on strengthening domestic investment, improving regional coordination, enhancing regulatory effectiveness, and reinforcing African leadership across the R&D ecosystem.