Launching Grant Cycle 8: Significant Changes and Strategic Shifts
15 December 2025
The Global Fund has published materials to support applicants with funding requests to Grant Cycle 8 (GC8). The Global Fund is introducing significant changes in GC8, with predominantly reduced country allocations to adapt to new realities and to best prioritize constrained resources in a changed financial landscape for global health.
These changes involve strategic shifts with a strengthened focus on pathways for transition from Global Fund financing, differentiated co-financing requirements, and raising additional domestic financing for health. The aim is to set transition timelines in the path to self-reliance and sustainability, all informed by country context, national priorities, and optimizing across all sources of financing for health.
The GC8 investment guidance places emphasis on rigorous prioritization of investments, value for money, integration, equitable access, leveraging the catalytic nature of the Global Fund partnership to maximize impact of investments.
Allocation letters are scheduled to be sent in March and will include information on the aims of the allocation tailored for each country and requirements to access the designated funding. In addition, they will contain information about relevant transition-pathways based on country context.
Global Fund Country Teams will support country dialogue to provide further information on the expectations for GC8 and continue to support countries to maximize and sustain impact with all sources of funds, aligned with national strategies and plans.
More information will follow through information sessions from December to March, covering application and investment guidance, allocation outcomes and the relevant strategic shifts related to transition pathways and timelines, integration, community systems, and catalytic investments. The Global Fund will support countries so GC8 funding requests and grant investments are aligned with these strategic shifts.