The 19th Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) Summit occurred in Paris, France, on the 7th and 9th of October 2024. During the same week, in neighbouring Switzerland, the Global Fund to Fight HIV, TB, and Malaria was holding its 26th committee meetings. France whose language is shared by the OIF and its 88 member states, including 29 African countries, is the second-largest donor to the Global Fund. Sub-Saharan Africa receives about 70% of the Global Fund resources. English is the working language of the Global Fund, and as such, committee meetings are held exclusively in English without interpretation for anyone, ostensibly to reduce costs. This situation handicaps French Speakers, especially Africans. Indeed, the Global Fund invests more than 20% of its resources in francophone Africa. By 2050, Africa will be home to 90% of the world’s French-speaking youth and the world’s most populous continent.
The article aims to highlight the importance of the French language in the Global Fund and the support that Expertise France, via its programme L’Initiative, provides to the two African Constituencies of the Global Fund through the African Constituency Bureau. L’Initiative is funded through France’s Global Fund set-aside, in other words L’Initiative receives a percentage of the funds pledged to support the Global Fund and directly funds interventions that support the Global Fund activities.
African Constituency Bureau, the African Constituencies and L’Initiative: a strong and impactful partnership
Established by African Health Ministers in 2012 and operational since 2017, the African Constituency Bureau (ACB) facilitates engagement between the 23 East and Southern Africa (ESA) and 23 West and Central Africa (WCA) constituencies and Global Fund governance. Hosted by Africa CDC, the ACB aims to strengthen African representation and influence in Global Fund processes.
The African Constituency Bureau (ACB) has benefited from L’Initiative’s funding since 2018. L’Initiative, which accounts for about 40% of the ACB financial resources, mainly funds technical staff time (including the writer of this article) and constituency engagement meetings focusing on the francophone countries and WCA. In turn, ACB analyses and other activities directly support the dozen African Global Fund governance members in addition to the Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs) and Principal/Sub Recipients from 46 African nations. Indirectly, ACB work benefits approximately 1.4 billion Africans impacted by HIV, TB, and malaria, along with local health ministries and civil society organizations, all working collaboratively to improve health outcomes across the continent.
Throughout the last grant, ACB supported the Board members in obtaining some important wins in the Global Fund for the two constituencies. Among them are increased attention to health system strengthening, extended funding utilization period for the COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM), and elevated focus on countries in Challenging Operating Environments (COE) followed by a review of the Additional Safeguard Policy (ASP).
It is notable that L’Initiative resources to the ACB do not come with strings attached related to the position of the constituencies.
Engage with the Voices of over 400 million Africans in their French Language
The section 17 of the declaration released at the end of the OIF summit reads that “in order to deal more effectively with pandemics, we are calling for French-language training in the field of health to be strengthened through the use of digital tools, and in this respect we welcome national and multilateral efforts, in particular within the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva, which this year will open its continuing education centre, the WHO Academy, in Lyon, and the cooperation agreement signed between the OIF and the WHO in 2021.” This call is important considering the ongoing outbreak of the Marburg Virus in Rwanda and the preceding outbreaks of Ebola in DRC and in West Africa. It is crucial that French be heard and understood in the Global Health Initiatives. Current platforms often lack multilingual resources, hindering significant contributions of African French speakers, as several have already highlighted. The Global Fund’s technical committees conduct meetings exclusively in English, creating further obstacles for non-English speakers.
As the Global Fund calls for the next cohort of committee members, ACB can already foresee the unfortunate silencing of Francophone voices: to do a good job in representing WCA and francophone countries in the Global Fund, the representative should be steeped in the realities of the francophones in the region, be a (retired) leader in his field and be a great English speaker. Asking a francophone leader who lacks a near-native ability to speak English to represent Africans in an anglophone Global Fund disserves Africa and the Global Fund. The effect of this situation is the silencing or the undermining of Francophone African voices and experiences. It might be beneficial to reconsider the approach towards the French-speaking communities in Africa, given that they are significant, with over 400 million people, and the Global Fund allocates more than 20% of its resources to their countries. This reconsideration could ensure inclusivity and fairness, which might currently be perceived as lacking for these communities within the Global Fund’s efforts. Many effective community members, CSOs and government leaders could bring a breath of fresh air and perspective to the Global Fund.
Are there no technological advances that will help solve this problem while being mindful of the cost?
As Eric Fleutelot, Technical Director of the Health Department, Major Pandemics Unit at Expertise France, points out, the importance of the French and Francophone contribution to the Global Fund is crucial. Click & Tweet! He adds that “the importance of the French-speaking world in the global response to HIV, tuberculosis and malaria goes far beyond the French contribution or that of other French-speaking countries! It is the working language of many of the countries supported by the Global Fund, and it is the working language of actors in many French-speaking countries. Today, in a world predominantly English-speaking, we need to encourage multilingualism to enable every country and every actor to contribute effectively to the Global Fund partnership”.
When asked how France’s commitment and the Global Fund’s unique cultural and linguistic approach contribute practically to the improvement of health systems in French-speaking countries? He explains that under L’Initiative, “many Francophone countries receive additional and complementary technical and financial support, which is essential for strengthening their health systems. This contribution goes well beyond mere funding; it also incorporates a unique cultural and linguistic approach, where countries support each other as part of a decolonising approach to aid. This enables local actors to better understand and implement Global Fund strategies”.
The ACB advocates for greater inclusion of French speakers to ensure diverse perspectives and improved performance based on the region’s specific needs.
Christelle Muvunyi
