The Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF) is an international financing institution established within the World Bank to improve reproductive health, maternal, child, and adolescent health and nutrition (RMNCAH-N). Since its establishment in 2015, the GFF has supported the development and implementation of country-led national health plans. In particular, the GFF focuses on promoting collaboration among governments, development partners, civil society, and the private sector to achieve national health plans through multi-stakeholder platforms in each country. The GFF is unique in that, in addition to providing new World Bank funds to implementing countries on a results basis, it also acts as a catalyst for the effective mobilization of existing funds to the health sector. 

The purpose of this event was to promote participants’ understanding of how the GFF can contribute to improving the health of all women and children and achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), especially in low- and middle-income countries that have seen regression in maternal and child health improvements due to the impact of COVID-19.  

The event was opened with an address by Isao Kano, President of JCIE/Japan. Bruno Rivalan, the GFF’s Deputy Executive Director of Global Health Advocates, then gave an overview of the GFF’s role in achieving UHC and its strategy for 2021–2025. 

Mr. Rivalan noted that the GFF has been working to improve access to family planning and vaccines, strengthen health systems including human capital and supply chains, as well as mobilize additional funding. He also noted that the GFF’s strategy through 2025 includes supporting donor leadership, addressing gender, geographic, and economic imbalances, ensuring robust essential health services even during health crises, pushing for financial reforms, and creating appropriate data and systems for decision-making. 

Case study reports on the GFF’s impact on universal health coverage in Ethiopia were then presented by Yuka Shimamura from Save the Children Japan. Tomoko Suzuki from JCIE then presented a country case study report on the GFF’s role in supporting PHC toward achieving UHC in Vietnam, Tajikistan, and Côte d’Ivoire.  

JICA’s Tomoya Yoshida discussed the past relationship between JICA and the GFF, as well as their future prospects. JICA has been actively coordinating and collaborating with the GFF at both the field and global levels as a member of the GFF Investors Group. He highlighted JICA’s efforts to support the implementation of national health strategies in Kenya and other countries. JICA provides technical assistance in formulating these strategies and offers development policy loans to promote UHC. Yoshida also expressed JICA’s interest in working together with the GFF through parallel financing and technical cooperation in the areas of maternal and child health and primary healthcare at the field level.

GFF’s Maty Dia, also emphasized the importance of the GFF’s partnership with civil society and youth. She explained that since its inception, the GFF has placed partnership-building with civil society and youth at the core of its strategy, supporting youth groups and civil society in policy advocacy and monitoring the efforts of GFF and its partners. The participants expressed their expectations for further progress in the future.  

Youth representatives Arafat Kabugo and Maika Miyoshi presented messages on the importance of the GFF’s role in strengthening youth voices and youth-led initiatives, as well as the significance of the GFF in coordinating among stakeholders and mobilizing funds. Both expressed the hope that the Japanese government will increase its contribution to these activities, strengthen collaboration, and create more career development opportunities for youth.

The event concluded with the Minister Plenipotentiary of the Embassy of Ethiopia in Japan expressing gratitude to global donors for external funding and reaffirming the need for continued financial resources to address maternal, child, and adolescent health.