Frequently asked questions

What is the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All?

• The Global Action Plan is an initiative of 12 multilateral agencies that play significant roles in health, development and humanitarian responses.
• The objective of the Global Action Plan is to enhance collaboration among the 12 agencies to accelerate country progress on the health-related SDG targets.
• The Plan consists of a series of commitments and proposed actions by the 12 agencies to strengthen their collaboration with countries and each other under seven “accelerator themes”.  The Plan also includes actions that the agencies will take to harmonize their operational and financial strategies, policies and approaches, advance gender equality and deliver global public goods.
• The Global Action Plan describes how the 12 signatory agencies are adopting new ways of working, building on existing successful collaborations, and jointly aligning their support around national plans and strategies that are country owned and led.
• Although referred to as a Global Plan, the true value of the Plan will be realized through coordinated support, action and progress in countries.

Who are the signatory agencies to the Global Action Plan?

• The 12 signatory agencies to the Global Action Plan are Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Global Financing Facility, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, Unitaid, UN Women, World Bank Group, World Food Program and World Health Organization. Together, these agencies work to address all targets in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 and many other health-related SDG targets. They play important roles in health financing, normative and policy guidance, market shaping, technical cooperation and humanitarian responses. The agencies collectively channel nearly one third of total development assistance for health.

Why is the Global Action Plan needed? 

• Despite the remarkable progress made in some areas of global health in the last few decades, the world is not on track to achieve most of the health-related SDG targets by 2030.
• More purposeful, systematic, transparent and accountable collaboration that leverages the 12 agencies’ collective strengths more effectively can help countries to accelerate progress in the forthcoming “decade of delivery” on the health-related SDGs. 

How was the Global Action Plan conceived?

•  The Global Action Plan was developed in response to a request made by the Heads of Government of Germany, Ghana and Norway - and later the United Nations Secretary-General - requesting that the Director-General of WHO and heads of other multilateral agencies streamline their collaboration and develop a Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All.  This call was echoed in the G20 Osaka Leaders’ Declaration.
• In response, 11 multilateral health, development and humanitarian agencies engaged in global health committed themselves in October 2018 to closer collaboration and alignment to help accelerate progress towards the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to developing a Global Action Plan. The 11 initial signatories to the October 2018 commitment were later joined by the World Food Programme. 

What will the agencies do under the Global Action Plan?

•  Implementation of the Global Action Plan will be driven primarily by the agencies’ commitment to engage with countries and provide support in a more coordinated way.
• The agencies make four specific, core commitments under the Plan: 1) To engage with countries better to identify priorities and plan and implement together; 2) To accelerate progress in countries through joint action under specific accelerator themes and on gender equality and the delivery of global public goods; 3) To align in support of countries by harmonizing operational and financial strategies, policies and approaches; and 4) To account, by reviewing progress and learning together to enhance shared accountability.
• The seven accelerator themes (see below) include 46 proposed actions that could be undertaken jointly by the agencies at both country and global/regional levels. The proposed country-level actions represent a menu of potential areas of collaboration, but the actions undertaken will be determined through joint engagement and planning with countries. The proposed global/regional-level actions will support the country-level actions and the delivery of global public goods.
• Not all 12 agencies will necessarily collaborate on every accelerator theme or action.  Collaborations will be based on what makes sense in the country context and take into account the respective agencies’ mandates and available resources. Some actions may be undertaken by a subset of the agencies and involve other development partners such as other multilateral agencies, bilateral agencies, civil society and the private sector.

What are the seven accelerator themes in the Global Action Plan and why are they important? 

• The seven accelerator themes in the Global Action Plan are 1) Primary health care 2) Sustainable financing for health 3) Community and civil society engagement 4) Determinants of health 5) Innovative programming in fragile and vulnerable settings and for disease outbreak responses 6) Research and development, innovation and access, and 7) Data and digital health.
• The accelerator themes represent catalytic opportunities for the signatory agencies to collectively better leverage existing resources, expertise, reach and capacities in areas that are common challenges in many countries and cut across the agencies’ mandates. Joint action by the agencies in these seven areas can help countries to accelerate progress towards the health-related SDGs.
• The accelerator themes are closely linked. For example, strong primary health care is fundamental to achieving SDG 3, while sustainable financing ensures efficient generation, allocation and use of resources for health, and increased multisectoral action to address the determinants of health can drive progress towards multiple health-related SDG targets.

What will the Plan achieve? 

• The principal measure of success under the Global Action Plan is accelerated progress towards achievement of the health-related SDG targets.
• By 2023, the Plan will have brought about the following three priority changes:
  • Better coordination among the agencies in their global, regional and in-country processes and better information sharing and collaboration under the seven accelerator themes;
  • A reduced burden on countries as a result of better aligned operational and financial policies and approaches among the agencies, with increased evidence of “joined-up” support; and
  • A focus on purpose-driven collaboration integrated into the agencies’ organizational cultures, encompassing leadership at global, regional and country levels.
• In support of these changes, by 2023, stakeholders will see clear evidence of:
  • Greater collective alignment among the agencies to support countries and increase impact;
  • Accelerated progress on key programmatic themes;
  • Better alignment of operational and financial strategies, policies and approaches; and
  • A shared approach among the agencies to monitoring and reviewing progress and learning.

How do countries obtain support under the Global Action Plan?

• The starting point for country engagement under the Plan will likely differ by country and accelerator theme.
• In many cases, engagement by the agencies to identify opportunities for intensified, joint support will build on existing collaborations and relationships between the agencies and countries.
• Country requests for support under the Plan will normally be signalled by governments, but demand from civil society, the private sector or other country stakeholders may also be evident. 
• The agencies recognize that country governments will play the driving role in setting priorities, developing implementation plans and ultimately delivering on the health-related SDG targets. The Global Action Plan focuses on how the agencies can maximize their collective effectiveness as enablers and supporters of countries’ efforts and will work with them to agree on priority areas where collaborative support is needed.
• Some countries may choose to define their priorities and needs for strengthened collaboration among the agencies through an inclusive process of national dialogue, using existing processes or platforms.
• As part of the process of country engagement, the agencies anticipate engaging with senior levels of government, including ministries of health and finance, to ensure high-level buy-in and multisectoral leadership, as well as with civil society, the private sector and other development partners.

Who is leading and coordinating work under the Global Action Plan? 

• Consistent with the principle of national ownership, countries will coordinate the agencies’ joint work at country level and ensure that the work takes into account the country context and existing coordination mechanisms and that the work is focused on agreed actions. 
• WHO will support governments in the coordination of country-level activities, leveraging existing UN and other donor coordination arrangements where appropriate, and will help to facilitate joint actions among the agencies at the global/regional levels. 
• At the global level, the work of the agencies’ Sherpa group is coordinated by the Global Action Plan Secretariat, which is hosted by WHO. Global-level work under specific accelerator themes may be coordinated by one or more of the signatory agencies acting as accelerator theme co-leads.

How will other organizations be engaged under the Global Action Plan?

• Relevant development partners, including bilateral and multilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations, civil society and the private sector will be informed and engaged at country and global/regional levels to determine their potential contributions to actions under the Plan.

How will the Global Action Plan advance gender equality? 

• The Plan includes an overarching commitment by the 12 agencies to advance gender equality, which is critical to the achievement of health-related and many other SDG targets.
• The agencies will consistently promote gender equality as part of engagement with countries and across the accelerator themes.
• In addition, the Plan includes specific commitments by the agencies to 1) Review and assess their policies, programmes and results, and, where possible, budget allocations and expenditures to ensure that they are gender-transformative, equity-oriented, rights-based and people-centred, and to encourage prioritization of gender equality at all levels of government; 2) Document best practices to promote cross-agency learning and collaboration on gender equality; and 3) Incorporate gender-specific targets in their monitoring frameworks through methods such as Global Health 50/50 and the United Nations System-wide Action Plan on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (SWAP).

How does the Plan relate to other key health strategies and commitments, such as those on primary health care and universal health coverage?

• The Plan does not propose new policies but aims to help countries implement existing national health strategies and to deliver on existing international commitments, including the health-related SDGs and commitments such as those made at the Astana Conference on Primary Health Care in 2018 and the United Nations General Assembly High-level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage in 2019.

Seven of the 12 Global Action Plan signatories are UN agencies. How does the Plan relate to the process of UN reform and the UN system more broadly? 

• Actions under the Global Action Plan will leverage resources and expertise from existing collaborations, platforms and processes wherever possible, rather than create new ones. 
• The Global Action Plan complements the ongoing process of United Nations Development System reform, which directly involves seven of the 12 agencies. That process aims to increase alignment and collective impact of UN agencies, particularly at country level. 
• Signatory agencies that participate in United Nations Joint Country Teams will engage those teams and other development partners in actions initiated under the Plan, where appropriate.
• Although five of the 12 agencies are not part of the United Nations system, it is in the collective interest of all the agencies, countries and other development partners to ensure that health is well articulated in national United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks and that agencies both within and outside the United Nations system are working closely together in support of the national priorities articulated in these and other national frameworks.
• The Global Action Plan broadly complements the United Nations System-wide Strategic Document, which describes the work of the United Nations Development System as a whole to support implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

What role do communities, civil society and the private sector play in the Global Action Plan?

•  Development of the Global Action Plan was informed by inputs from a civil society advisory group.
• Communities and civil society can play a role in identifying country priorities for support from the agencies under the Global Action Plan, working with governments and other national stakeholders; and contribute to scaling up national programming and delivery of global public goods under specific accelerator themes, particularly primary health care, sustainable financing for health, determinants of health, community and civil society engagement, innovative programming in fragile and vulnerable settings and for disease outbreak responses, and research and development, innovation and access. 
• The private sector can play a role in identifying country priorities for support from the agencies under the Global Action Plan, working with governments and other national stakeholders; and contribute to scaling up national programming and delivery of global public goods under specific accelerator themes, particularly primary health care, sustainable financing, determinants of health, research and development, innovation and access, and data and digital health. Although there is no specific accelerator theme in the Plan related to the private sector, the agencies will pursue additional opportunities for closer engagement of the private sector under the Plan, while managing conflicts of interest.

How does the Global Action Plan relate to agency-specific strategies?

• The plan is consistent with existing agency-specific strategies and aims to support their implementation through collective actions by the agencies. Agencies will only perform actions under the Plan that are consistent with their strategies and mandates.

What role do the agencies’ governing bodies have in the Global Action Plan?

•  Signatory agencies are formally accountable only to their respective governing bodies some of which include multisectoral representation including from civil society and the private sector. The agencies will keep their respective governing bodies informed throughout the development and implementation of the Global Action Plan.
• The agencies will prepare an annual joint report on progress in the implementation of the Global Action Plan to inform and engage Member States and non-state actors. This report may be used in appropriate formats to inform the agencies’ governing bodies, including the World Health Assembly, about progress made under the Plan.
• As the Global Action Plan complements existing and approved agency-specific strategies, no formal adoption of the Plan by the governing bodies is being sought.
• Actions under the Plan will enable the signatory agencies and their governing bodies to support countries’ needs and priorities more effectively and efficiently and to deliver global public goods in support of countries through closer collaboration and alignment.

What funding will the Global Action Plan bring? 

• The Global Action Plan does not provide or seek additional resources but will enable better use of existing resources as a result of improved collaboration and increased efficiencies, recognizing that each agency has its own unique mandate and area of expertise. 
• Action under the Plan can help countries to identify opportunities to better leverage existing resources and to mobilize additional resources, consistent with the accelerator theme on sustainable financing for health.

What happens after the launch of the Global Action Plan in September?

•  The Global Action Plan will be launched on September 24, 2019 on the side-lines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
• The Global Action Plan includes case studies illustrating how countries have engaged to various degrees under the Global Action Plan to date. After the launch, implementation of the Plan will accelerate through 2019 and 2020. The agencies will:
• Continue to jointly engage and deepen collaboration with countries to define priorities and plan joint support;
• Work with countries and each other to begin implementing actions under the accelerator themes, on gender equality and on global public goods at country and global/regional levels;
• Continue aligning operational and financial strategies, policies and approaches in line with their respective mandates and governance mechanisms where this contributes to increased effectiveness, efficiency and impact.
• Each agency will work to institutionalize the Global Action Plan’s spirit and approaches to collaboration at all levels of the agency.

How will the agencies monitor, evaluate and report on progress under the Global Action Plan?

• Ensuring accountability for the commitments made in the Global Action Plan, continuous learning within and among the agencies and identifying the enabling contributions of countries and partners are key to the Global Action Plan’s success.
• The agencies will prepare annual joint reports on progress in the implementation of the Global Action Plan to inform and engage Member States and non-state actors. These reports may be used in appropriate formats to inform the agencies’ governing bodies on progress under the Global Action Plan, including the World Health Assembly.
• An independent evaluation of the Global Action Plan is proposed for 2023, with collaboration, as appropriate, among the agencies’ monitoring and evaluation teams.