Global Financing Facility prepares for leadership shake-up

LONDON — Civil society groups say they will be watching closely as the $1 billion Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents prepares for a leadership shake-up amid a global backlash against sexual and reproductive health and rights. From July 1, GFF will no longer have a standalone director at the World Bank. Instead, the multidonor trust fund will be run by the bank’s new global director of health, nutrition, and population, Muhammad Pate, who is a former Nigerian health minister. Monique Vledder will remain manager of the GFF Secretariat, a GFF spokesperson told Devex. The change comes as GFF’s current director, Mariam Claeson, steps down after being seconded to the World Bank from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to lead GFF when it first launched in 2015. Tim Evans, who has been the banks’ senior director of health, nutrition, and population for the past six years, is also leaving as Pate takes over the portfolio. “It is the right time for me to leave as a seconded director to the GFF, and to hand over that role and responsibility as part of an ongoing reorganization which aims to further strengthen the institutional arrangement of the GFF going forward,” Claeson wrote in a recent blog post. Operating in 36 low- and middle-income countries, with plans to expand to more than 50, GFF uses relatively small grants to catalyze greater domestic investment in maternal and child health and nutrition interventions. It does this by helping countries develop investment cases for the work; making their spending more effective and efficient; and helping to bring in more innovative forms of financing from donors and the private sector. GFF is housed within the World Bank and has a semi-autonomous structure. A bank spokesperson said the governance shift does not spell major change for the facility and will ensure “closer links with World Bank operations, which is a key part of the GFF value proposition.” The GFF director role has also been “elevated” since it now reports directly to the vice president for human development, the spokesperson said. The changes at GFF come not long after a leadership upheaval at the World Bank. In April, David Malpass became the institution’s latest president after the unexpected departure of Jim Kim in January. The change has raised concerns that sexual and reproductive health and rights could be deprioritized under Malpass, who was picked by a United States administration that has slashed funding for SRHR in its own budget and weakened language on SRHR in international agreements. Civil society groups are welcoming Pate to the job but said they would be watching closely to ensure GFF maintains its independence from the bank, and that it keeps its focus on SRHR. “Mr. Pate has a really good reputation, and luckily good GFF staff will stay, but we hope the GFF will keep its independence, and not suddenly be subject to demands of backing away from SRHR or the gender equality link, just because the bank has a new head,” Women Deliver CEO Katja Iversen told Devex. International Planned Parenthood Federation’s Director of Advocacy Ana María Bejar also urged GFF’s incoming director to boost transparency and participation. “There is an urgent need for greater transparency and clarity of GFF communications on resources mobilized by the mechanism, including in support of sexual and reproductive health and rights,” Bejar told Devex, adding that, “civil society needs better structures for their participation in GFF processes, particularly at country level.” Bejar echoed calls to ensure GFF continues to support women and girls’ access to SRHR services which she said was “ever more important, in light of the current backlash against sexual and reproductive health and rights.” She hoped Pate’s appointment would bring “renewed focus and commitment” to SRHR issues. GFF was greeted with enthusiasm by the aid community when it was launched. Its first annual report, released in July 2018, showed promising early results. However, it missed its fundraising target last year, raising $1 billion of the hoped-for $2 billion. Civil society groups have also been calling for greater information and transparency around GFF processes and investment decisions, and greater collaboration with NGOs, young people, and the intended recipients of GFF projects. Concerns have also been raised about GFF’s independence from the bank in the past. A report commissioned by the European Commission ahead of GFF’s replenishment last year, and seen by Devex, found that at the country-level, World Bank staff were directing GFF’s effort with little direct influence from GFF’s secretariat and partners. GFF said it now has a liaison officer in each country to support the partnership.