ODA Spending

How much ODA does France allocate to global health?

How is French global health ODA changing?

France’s ODA for global health has increased over the past five years. However, its relative share of 9% of total ODA in 2022 remains below the DAC average of 15%.

How does France allocate global health ODA?

Bilateral Spending

In 2022, 48% (US$973 million) of France’s ODA for health was provided bilaterally, including 5% in earmarked funding through multilaterals.

Multilateral Spending and Commitments

The remaining 52% (US$1.1 billion) was channeled through multilateral organizations, above the DAC average of 34%. This funding was primarily channeled through the Global Fund, Gavi, EU Institutions, and the International Development Association of the World Bank.

Health is a key area of France’s multilateral engagement despite efforts to increase the proportion of bilateral spending. While it remains above the DAC average of 34% and multilateral health ODA increased in absolute terms compared to 2021, it has continuously decreased as a share of overall health ODA from a high of 72% in 2018.

France boosted its financial contributions to several multilateral health organizations, notably pledging EUR1.6 billion ( US$1.6 billion) for 2023-2025 at the seventh Global Fund replenishment in September 2022, a 23% increase from its previous contribution. 20% of this funding will be channeled to L’initiative, a bilateral instrument managed by Expertise France to provide technical expertise for France’s priority countries. In September 2022, the President also announced EUR255 million ( US$269 million) to UNITAID for 2023-2025 to reduce treatment costs. France has doubled its contribution to the WHO since the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting a stronger WHO as the principal coordinating health body. It also hosts the Lyon-based WHO academy to train healthcare professionals, illustrating France’s focus on human resources in health, in addition to primary health care.

Funding and Policy Outlook

What is the current government's outlook on global health ODA?

On October 12, 2023, the French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna, Minister of Higher Education and Research Sylvie Retailleau, and Minister of Health and Prevention Aurélien Rousseau introduced France's new Global Health Strategy for 2023-2027.

The strategy contains five main objectives:

• Promote equitable and resilient healthcare systems to achieve universal healthcare coverage;
• Promote the health and well-being of populations, and prevent and combat disease at all stages of life;
• Better prepare for and respond to public health emergencies and the consequences of climate change, with a "One Health" approach;
• Promote a new global health architecture; and
• Support French research and expertise.

The strategy was described as a continuation of the previous 2017-2021 strategy and contained cross-cutting objectives included in other development strategies.

France also focuses on the intersection of social protection and global health, particularly emphasizing maternal and newborn health and SRHR. In 2023, the MEAE published its 2023-2027 strategy on SRHR.

Key Bodies