Key Resources for Grant Cycle 8

Over the course of 2026, countries receiving support from the Global Fund will complete the planning process for grants to be implemented from 2027 to 2029. This page highlights resources to help you in your work throughout the Funding Request development process. 

Key dates:

Funding requests for grant cycle must be submitted in 2026 in three windows:

  • Window 1 deadline: 8 June 2026 ( TRP Meeting July)
  • Window 2 deadline: 27 July 2026 ( TRP Meeting September)
  • Window 3 deadline: 5 October 2026 ( TRP Meeting November)
  • More windows will be announced down the line running into 2027.

The calendar window is shorter for engagement than during GC7, which means that your chance as civil society and communities to engage is now. Follow up with your civil society or communities representatives on the Global Fund’s CCMs to learn more about the planning calendar in your country and opportunities to contribute to consultations. You need to have a voice in the planning, implementation, and ongoing monitoring of these grants. This page is meant to be a starting point to find the support most relevant to you!  

You don’t know who sits on the CCM in your country? Check if they are in the CCM Database (run by DataEtc)

Resources from the GFAN

  • New resources coming soon!

Resources from the Global Fund Secretariat 

The Global Fund provides official guidance for funding request development on its website. The documents are available in English, French and Spanish, and include: 

  • UPDATED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TOOLBOX: Resources from Partners of the Global Fund’s Community Engagement Strategic Initiative – This Toolbox contains 178 action-oriented resources in 13 different languages. They can be used to help strengthen and support community engagement in Global Fund-related processes. Some of the tools are region-specific, but many have global application. All in one place! The purpose of this Toolbox is to aggregate resources that are stored in many different places into one centralized repository. Its aim is to be a user-friendly library for communities to strengthen their Global Fund engagement,for example : 
    • Community Consultations Toolkit: Community Engagement during the Global GC8 (English, Spanish)
    • Costing Guide and Tool for Civil Society and Community Priorities in GC8 (English, French)
    • A Community Guide to Integration in the Global Fund GC8 (English)
    • A Guide for Communities in Global Fund’s Sustainability, Transition and Co-Financing (English)
    • Guide to the Global Fund’s GC8 for the Trans and Gender Diverse Community (English)
    • How People who Use Drugs Can Influence Global Fund GC8 (English)
    • GC8 for Sex Worker-Led Organization (English, Spanish, French, Russian)
    • GC8 Youth Engagement Guideline for Youth-Led Organizations in Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Eastern Europe (English)
    • Understanding and acting effectively in the Global Fund GC8 process – malaria component (English, French)

    Who developed the tools? The tools were developed by the 37 partners of the Global Fund’s Community Engagement Strategic Initiative – by communities, for communities.

  • Community Engagement Strategic Initiative Support for GC8 Engagement – slide deck that provides a list of resources, support and funding mechanisms available for community engagement through the CE SI for GC8. 
  • Prioritizing programmatic interventions to address structural barriers to malaria services – slide deck providing guidance on how countries can build strong funding requests that not just prioritize targeted programmatic interventions to remove barriers to services but also integrate, sustain and improve essential services and build resilient and sustainable systems. One cannot be abandoned for the other. 
  • Accessing your GC8 Allocation (Spanish, French) slide deck that provides quick information on the application and submission process, how to navigate early PR nominations and a comprehensive list of documents and resources required for submission of the application.
  • HIV, TB, Malaria and RSSH prioritization guides, as well as a “Value for Money Technical Notes”. These documents can add the weight of the Secretariat’s credibility to your messaging around which programs and interventions should be included in the grant.
  • Guidance on Integration, Sustainability, Transition and Co-financing, as well as access to Innovation. All three themes will be at the center of discussion during this round of funding request development and a good understanding of how they will shape the outcome is crucial. 

The latest Grant Cycle 8 Update is available here. You can find more comprehensive information on the Global Fund Grant Cycle Planning on their resource page: in English, en français, en español.  Documents available through this portal include additional guidance, technical notes related to grant-making processes and programming, and recordings of informational webinars. 

The Global Fund is also hosting regular information sessions on applying for GC8 funding. All related information, including recordings of past sessions, is available here. 

Partners’ Resources 

Other partners are also providing support on thematic and/or disease-specific programming in grant cycle 8 grants: 

  • NEW
  • The Msingi (Swahili for ‘foundation’) study is designed to gather feedback and input from communities and civil society about Grant Cycle 8 (GC8) and opportunities to advocate for accountability in the new global health architecture. Available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, and Swahili.  If anyone has any questions or concerns, they may reach out to info@globaladvocacydatahub.org.  
    • LINK TO FILL THE SURVEY: https://bit.ly/Msingi 
    • Reach out to Victor Adula (victoradula@gmail.com) if you would like to participate in the creation of a community quilt, in which we will highlight the experiences of communities and data from the Msingi study.

 

 

  • Ensuring Trans and Gender Diverse Community Engagement in Grant Cycle 8 – This newsletter issue curated by APTN and from Seven Alliance and the Asia Pacific learning hub is a practical guide for trans and gender diverse communities on how to protect and strengthen their priorities in the GC8.
  • What must I know about GC8? – A guide created by and for our communities – trans and gender diverse, gay men and other men who have sex with men, sex workers and people who use drugs – to learn how to best take advantage of the Global Fund Grant Cycle 8 (GC8)
  • Understanding and acting Effectively in the Global Fund Grant Cycle 8 Process Malaria Component – developed by Impact Santé Afrique, this guide was designed to support civil society organizations and communities in understanding and contributing to the new Global Fund Grant Cycle (GC8) for the 2027–2029 period. Read on to strengthen understanding of the strategic orientations of GC8, to gain intel on program integration and accelerate your participation in the development, implementation, and monitoring of country processes and grants
  • Protecting civil society’s critical role in HIV and TB programs during and beyond donor transition: Actions needed from Congress, the Administration and the Global Fund.  The report was developed by Pharos Global Health Advisors and co-published with Friends of the Global Fight.  It examines the vital importance of civil society organizations (CSOs) in delivering prevention, case detection, and treatment services in national HIV and TB programs. The report urges governments and donors to make CSOs central to donor transition and ensure domestic funding commitments to communities.
  • Promising practices in advocacy for domestic health spending.  The brief examines how civil society organizations are advocating for increased domestic health spending while ensuring that communities have a voice in decisions.  It is co-produced by Friends of the Global Fight, Lean on Me Foundation (Kenya), Spiritia Foundation (Indonesia) and Faith Leader Advocacy for Malaria Elimination (Zambia). 
  • Webinar Recording The DR-TB Care Cascade Gaps We Keep Missing: the Evidence Communities Need to Shape Stronger Funding Priorities – held on 13 May 2026 and organized by the TB Europe Coalition together with its country partners SMIT (Moldova) and KNCV Tajikistan, within the interregional COMBAT DR-TB project, funded by Unitaid.
  • Near Point-of-Care TB Tests: What Communities Need to Know and Advocate for in Global Fund Grant Cycle 8 – GC8 represents a once-in-three-years opportunity to secure financing for NPOC rollout. Countries that develop ambitious, cost roadmaps will be better positioned to access this funding, while those that delay risk missing out. TAG’s new factsheet gives advocates the tools needed to succeed: clear budget language, use case illustrations, advocacy questions for country dialogues, and a step-by-step timeline spanning the full funding cycle.
  • Global Fund Grant Cycle 8 Essential Community TB Interventions to be Prioritized, Sustained and Scaled ( Fr ) – This guidance note is designed to support TB-affected communities, civil society organizations, National TB Programs (NTPs), and country partners in advocating for, prioritizing, and sustaining essential community-led and implemented TB interventions under GC8.
  • Global Fund Grant Cycle 8: Dialogue and Advocacy Briefing for Civil Society – This brief from MSF explains what domestic resource mobilization (DRM) is, why DRM alone cannot close the funding gaps created by the difficult aid landscape, and why and how it is vital that civil society’s perspective and insights are included in country dialogue to protect health services and the most vulnerable populations.
  • Grant Cycle 8 Youth Engagement Guideline – Published by Y2Y Consortium is a practical tool to support youth-led engagement in Global Fund GC8 processes. It outlines key entry points for participation in planning, implementation, monitoring, and advocacy for HIV, TB, and malaria responses, with a focus on CCM engagement, community-led monitoring, and youth-centered, rights-based approaches across Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Eastern Europe.
  • Strategic Recommendations for EECA Countries: High Impact Interventions for GC8 Funding Requests – A new strategic guide from the Alliance for Public Health supports Country Coordinating Mechanisms in Eastern Europe and Central Asia to build stronger, more competitive funding requests for the Global Fund’s Grant Cycle 8. Designed as a practical tool for CCMs, the document offers ready-to-use, adaptable interventions that respond to key regional challenges — from fragmented data systems and low PrEP retention to underfunded human rights mechanisms and limited domestic financing. It reflects GC8’s growing emphasis on people-centred services, community leadership, digital transformation and sustainable health systems. The guide presents six high-impact interventions in a CCM-friendly format, with problem statements, expected results and indicative budgets, making it easier to integrate them into HIV, TB, RSSH, CRG and prevention modules.

Regional Learning Hubs 

Six regional learning hubs support civil society and communities in their engagement in Global Fund processes. The hubs will be sharing information about grant cycle 8 planning, broker virtual and face-to-face learning platforms and assist communities in accessing technical assistance. 

Below are quick links to their websites / social media channels. 

  • Middle East and North Africa (MENAHRA) / LinkedIn
  • Latin America and the Caribbean (Via Libre) 
    • Community Consultations / Community Engagement during the Global Fund Grant Cycle 8 (GC8) 2026 – 2028 Allocation Period Toolkit – Meaningful engagement and inclusion of people living with and affected by HIV, tuberculosis and malaria are essential to ensure that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s (TGF) investments are informed by strong evidence and grounded in a rights-based approach. This Toolkit aims to support facilitators and community representatives in countries eligible for TGF funding in conducting meaningful and inclusive community consultations to inform GC8 funding requests. It focuses on strengthening community engagement in identifying and prioritizing the programmatic needs of their diverse constituencies, so these can be included in the funding requests submitted to TGF. This Toolkit can be used either partially or in full. It is intended to guide and support technical teams, and should be adapted to the national context, the needs of each country, and the dynamics of communities and civil society.
  • Eastern Europe and Central Asia Platform 

If you have developed a resource that you would like see listed on this page, feel free to reach out to Quentin @globalfundadvocatesnetwork.org or another member of the GFAN team!