Donor resourcing
Two global funding mechanisms, Gavi and the Global Fund, provide opportunities to support eligible countries in implementing or strengthening aspects of their hepatitis testing, treatment, and/or vaccination programmes.
It is essential that community advocates in eligible countries actively engage with both the Gavi and Global Fund processes to ensure their ministries of health include hepatitis in their funding applications.
Read more about how to engage with Gavi and the Global Fund and download resources to help shape your advocacy efforts below.
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is an international organisation that seeks to improve access to vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries. Eligible countries can apply for Gavi grants to receive support to strengthen health systems and introduce vaccines, including for hepatitis B.
In 2024, Gavi launched its hepatitis B birth dose grant programme, which allows 34 eligible countries to apply for funding to introduce the vaccine into their immunisation programmes.
These 34 countries include: Bangladesh, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Several countries have already applied for or have begun to receive Gavi support, but it is critical that civil society organisations and other stakeholders in eligible countries advocate to their ministries of health and encourage them to apply for Gavi support.
Changes to Gavi applications
As Gavi transitions to a new strategic period in 2026, the way countries apply for Gavi support to implement hepatitis B vaccines programmes will change.
Known as the ‘Gavi Leap’, the new Gavi 6.0 strategy aims to ensure long-term sustainability of Gavi programmes given recent changes to the global health funding landscape. In Gavi 6.0, countries will submit a single application covering all its vaccine funding requests for the 2026 – 2030 period, including for support to implement hepatitis B birth dose vaccination programmes. The new grant application process aims to simplify the application process and will allow Gavi to align its grant cycles with the Global Fund.
While full details of the updated application process have not yet been published, it is essential that advocates in countries eligible for the hepatitis B birth dose vaccine engage their ministries of health now about the upcoming applications.
WHA will continue to share updates on the Gavi application process with our members as information become available. Please continue to check back here for further updates.
The Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria
Grant Cycle 8, 2026 – 2028
The Global Fund to fight AIDs, TB and Malaria (GFATM) raises and invests funding to support efforts to end HIV, TB, and malaria as public health threats in countries worldwide. The GFATM policies have increasingly evolved to enable countries to integrate viral hepatitis services into HIV programmes for people living with HIV, key populations and pregnant women. Many countries were able to leverage this opportunity in the previous Grant Cycle (GC7, 2023 – 2025).
The current Grant Cycle 8 (GC8, 2026 – 2028) is a key opportunity for hepatitis communities to once again advocate for the sustained inclusion of hepatitis interventions in Global Fund-supported programming.
WHA has developed a briefing following the launch of new GC8 guidance to support advocacy efforts for hepatitis-integrated services in GC8. It complements the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) toolkit, which helps users identify opportunities for hepatitis and navigate the GC8 process. The briefing also includes calls to action and key messages for community advocates to assist in their conversations with key stakeholders.
WHA’s partners also have developed several resources to support GC8 proposal development, implementation planning, and advocacy:
- Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) GC8 toolkit and accompanying resources, including sample advocacy language for funding requests: https://www.clintonhealthaccess.org/report/gc8-toolkit/
- SAFEStart+ toolkit to help countries align the elimination of vertical transmission (EVT) priorities with evolving Global Fund guidance: https://www.path.org/our-impact/resources/integrating-elimination-of-vertical-transmission-into-global-fund-grant-cycle-8-funding-requests/
- PATH Integration Primer and RAPID tool for integration readiness assessment: https://www.path.org/our-impact/resources/integration-primer/
- Evidence Action GC8 Toolkit and related resources to help country teams and their partners to integrate dual HIV/syphilis rapid tests into funding proposals (available in English and French): https://www.evidenceaction.org/gc8-syphilis-toolkit
The Global Fund also published a new ‘Briefing Note on Accelerating the Introduction of Long-Acting Depot Buprenorphine (LADB) and Low Dead Space Syringes and Needles (LDSS/N) for Harm Reduction Service Delivery’ in July 2026, which provides countries with practical guidance to support planning and implementation of innovative, evidence-based harm reduction interventions in GC8.
To complement the Global Fund briefing, PATH has developed an advocacy tool, which collates evidence, implementation considerations and advocacy messages to support country decision-making on LADB introduction.
For more information on LADB please see the INPUD resource Hub: https://inpud.net/global-hepc-community-advisory-board-cab/
GC8 webinars
WHA and partners co-organised two webinars on advancing investments for hepatitis and triple elimination in GC8.
From Policy to Action: Advancing Hepatitis Integration Priorities in Global Fund GC8
On 7 May 2026, CHAI and WHA co-organised a webinar on advancing hepatitis-integrated investments in GC8. Speakers presented key insights from CHAI’s new toolkit and explored the critical role civil society has to play for hepatitis-integrated investments in application.
Investing in Integration: Unlocking Triple Elimination Investments in GC8
On 19 May 2026, WHA, CHAI, PATH, Evidence Action, and Unitaid co-organised a webinar to explore how triple elimination aligns with GC8 priorities. Speakers shared partners tools designed to support proposal development and implementation planning and discussed immediate actions that countries, civil society, and other stakeholders can take to advance triple elimination in GC8.
Preparation for GC8
Recent global aid shortfalls reduced Global Fund allocations for the remainder of GC7. This forced countries to reprioritise activities which can create both risks and opportunities for hepatitis.
To help equip advocates to engage in the Global Fund’s reprioritisation efforts in GC8, CHAI and WHA partnered to develop a briefing to support communities advocate effectively for the integration and long-term sustainability of hepatitis interventions within Global Fund-supported programmes, primary health care and community systems.
In preparation for GC8, advocates can revisit materials developed by WHA and partners to familiarise themselves with the GFATM process.
CHAI together with support from partners including WHA, World Health Organization and others developed a Resource Toolkit on GFATM 2023 – 2025 Funding Opportunity for Hepatitis to equip a wide range of stakeholders to understand the GFATM hepatitis-related policies and support advocacy efforts for hepatitis services. While the Global Fund will enter a new grant cycle in 2026, this resource still has information that is relevant to advocates that are looking to better understand Global Fund processes.
Based on the previous Global Fund Grant Cycle 7 (GC7, 2023 – 2025), the toolkit includes:
- A detailed summary of the evolution of GFATM hepatitis-related policies and specific guidance for the 2023-2025 funding round
- Several Country Case Studies, highlighting countries who have been successful in this process
- Tools to support advocacy and funding requests like the rationale for making hepatitis-related investments, cost-effectiveness rationale, a summary of pricing for hepatitis B and C commodities, generic advocacy workplan and activities checklist that can be customized to country settings
- …and much more!
WHA also developed a short brief to advocates to complement the more detailed toolkit.