Policy Updates

On April 25, 2024, France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that France will be hosting a Global Forum on vaccine sovereignty and innovation on June 20, 2024.

The event will take place in Paris and be co-hosted by the AU and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The forum was outlined as having two main objectives:

• It will launch the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator: The accelerator will provide funding for regional vaccine manufacturing on the African continent. Conceived by Gavi in close consultation with African disease prevention and control centers, it will contribute to the AU’s goal of manufacturing at least 60% of the vaccine doses needed by Africa on the African continent by 2040; and
• It will mark the start of Gavi’s replenishment campaign for 2026-2030: Gavi enables significant progress possible in the fight against such infectious diseases as malaria, dengue and cholera, whose risks of spreading are increased by climate disruption. It also contributes to better prevention of cervical cancer in women and girls.

On March 28, 2024, France announced it will host the next edition of the Nutrition for Growth Summit in Paris on March 27 and 28, 2025.

The summit aims to mobilize the international community, including private actors and civil society, in favor of nutrition and to achieve the UN SDGs.The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in the announcement that malnutrition problems are worsening worldwide, including undernutrition, food deficiencies and obesity.

France announced its continued commitment to nutrition through its international strategy for food security, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture from 2019-2024. It highlighted concrete actions to improve the nutrition of vulnerable populations, including food assistance, the Muskoka Initiative on Maternal and Child Health, and the actions of the AFD in the health, agriculture, and WASH sectors.

On March 21, 2024, the EU announced a contribution of EUR268 million (USS$290 million) at the EU - LAC High-Level Event on Inclusive Human Development and Equitable Access to Health Products.

Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Uprilainen announced the investment, made in cooperation with France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, and Sweden. The finance aims to mobilize EUR1 billion (US$1 billion) to support access to basic social services and rights and increase the transparency and accountability of government agencies.

The contribution was made in line with broader :abbrEU - CELAC cooperation, which aims to mobilize over EUR45 billion (US$49 billion) from 2024-2027 to support the SDGs and other efforts in the region.

On March 20, 2024, the EU and the Belgian Council presidency announced a joint contribution of EUR14 million (US$15 million) for the African Medicines Agency and launched three global health partnership programs.

The support, announced at the high-level event on EU – AU partnership on Global Health for equitable access, comprised EUR10 million (US$11 million) from the Commission and EUR4 million (US$4 million) from Belgium. The support aims to advance the establishment of the African Medicines Agency, particularly as an end to strengthening vaccine production and health innovation.

In addition, the event marked the launch of three Team Europe initiatives on:

• Sustainable Health Security, which aims to increase PPR among African partner countries, with a specific focus on AMR and other infectious diseases, and will receive EUR128 million (US$129 million) from the 2021-2027 budget;
• Support to Public Health Institutes in Africa, which aims to bolster UHC and reduce health access inequalities and received an allocation of EUR50 million (US$54 million) from 2024-2027; and
• Digital Health, focusing on reducing health disparities and advancing UHC and PPR through technological and practical innovation, which received EUR87 million (US$94 million) from 2024-2027.

On March 14, 2024, the French AI Commission delivered a report to French President Emmanuel Macron, containing 25 recommendations for France to take advantage of the technological revolution of AI.

France announced in November 2023 that it will host the AI Safety Summit in December 2024.

The report includes objectives to be led by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Europe and the Ministry of Health on:

• Making France a pioneer of AI for the planet by reinforcing environmental transparency, research into low-impact models, and utilizing AI in the service of energy and environmental transitions;
• Structuring a coherent and concrete diplomatic initiative aimed at establishing a global governance of AI;
• Facilitating data flow, sharing of practices, and evaluation to leverage the benefits of AI in healthcare, improving the provision of care and the daily lives of healthcare professionals; and
• Encouraging individual use, large-scale experimentation, and evaluation of AI tools to strengthen the public education service and improve the daily lives of educational teams.

On February 27, 2024, 102 French NGOs signed an op-ed published in Le Monde.

The article called out France’s February 2024 budget cut of EUR742 million (US$804 million). CSOs argued the cut goes against Macron's 2021 Development Law, which set France on the path to acheiving a 0.7% ODA/GNI ratio. The article stated that by reducing its financial commitments, France had reduced its influence on the international stage at a time when it should be reaffirming its support to multilateralism and CSOs.

The article also underscored the impact that the cut would have on the poorest countries, highlighting projects across sectors that would be reduced or cut due to diminished funding.

Led by Coordination Sud President Olivier Bruyeron, signatures included:

• UNICEF France President Adeline Hazan;
• ONE France President Najat Vallaud-Belkacem;
• Action contre la Faim President Aïcha Koraïchi;
• Oxfam Director General Cécile Duflot;
• WWF Director General Véronique Andrieux;
• Secours catholique Director General Adélaide Bertrand;
• Mouvement pour le planning familial Director Sarah Durocher;
• Handicap International Director Manuel Patrouillard;
• Global Citizen Vice-President for International Advocacy Friederike Röder;
• Equipop Executive Director Aurélie Gal-Régniez;
• CARE France co-directors Emanuela Croce and Alexandre Morel;
• AMREF Health Africa Josselin Léon;
• Friends of the Global Fund Executive Director Hélène Berger; and
• Action Santé Mondial Director Patrick Bertrand.

On January 19, 2024, the French Presidency announced that France will launch, around the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games next July, a major initiative for the children of the planet focusing on health, nutrition, and education issues.

Political advisors to French President Emmanuel Macron have shared that France will use the Olympic Games as well as the presence of numerous heads of states in Paris for the opening ceremony to ask for commitments to global nutrition, health, and education.

The initiative follows the Global Coalition for School Meals, which held its first meeting in France in October 2023. The coalition supports the objective that all schoolchildren worldwide have access to meals necessary for good learning and growth by 2030.

On December 7, 2023, Gavi announced that France and the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention will co-host the launch of the organization's investment case.

The event will take place in June 2024 in support of the Gavi replenishment for 2026-2030. It will also upport the launch of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator.

The statement was welcomed by the French Secretary of State for Development, International Partnerships, and Francophonie, as well as ONE, Global Health Advocates, and AMREF.

France committed EUR500 million (US$549 million) during Gavi's last replenishment and emphasized the need for the international community to improve children's access to vaccines and support regional manufacturing of vaccines in Africa.

On December 5, 2023, the AFD and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a contribution of EUR55 million (US$59 million) to eradicate polio, including a EUR20 million buy-down from the Gates Foundation.

The launch of the project took place at AFD headquarters in Paris with the participation of the French Secretary of State for Development, Francophonie, and International Partnerships Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates, and General Director of the AFD Rémy Rioux.

The loan provided by the AFD will support national health institutions of Pakistan as well as the Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative to tackle polio and support the Pakistan's recovery after devastating floods in 2022.

The project aims to provide resources for Pakistan to adapt its health system to climate change. Through the WHO, the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme is slated to take charge of immunization activities, disease surveillance, and polio campaign monitoring. The project will also support female polio health care workers.

On October 25-26, 2023, the EU hosted the Global Gateway Forum, which invited stakeholders from international businesses, partner countries, and CSOs.

The two-day conference aimed to increase visibility of the Global Gateway program, the EU's investment and ODA platform, which aims to strengthen Europe's ties with partner countries while addressing contemporary challenges like climate change or energy transition.

Over the course of the conference, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Uprilainen announced a variety of partnerships and funding, including:

• EUR634 million (US$669 million) for global health, including EUR500 million (US$528 million) for a partnership between the EIB, BMGF to support SMEs working on global health R&D and vaccine development, and EUR134 million (US$141 million) to support health product manufacturing in Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, and South Africa;
• EUR500 million (EUR528 million) to launch a credit facility for the EU's Just Energy Transition Partnership with Vietnam, which will focus on decarbonization projects, and was accompanied by EUR1 billion (US$1.1 billion) in loans from the EIB, AFD, and KfW;
• EUR470 million (US$496 million) for Bangladesh, including an EUR395 million (US$418 million) loan from the EIB for solar and wing projects, and EUR70 million education, and combatting GBV;
• EUR146 million (US$154 million) from the EU and AFD for Tanzania to support the construction of a hydropower plant on the Kagera river;
• EUR72 million (US$76 million) for the 2023 EU - Kenya cooperation priorities, which included assistance for green energy transition, shoring up cybersecurity, combatting female genital cutting, and strengthening democratic structures; and
• EUR46 million (US$49 million) to support the foundation of a Regional Teacher Facility in Africa to support the realization of commitments made at the 2022 Transforming Education Summit, with an emphasis on foundational learning, capacity-building, and technical assistance for partner countries in Africa.

While the event resulted in a variety of high-level commitments, observers expressed concern at the mismatch between representation from partner countries, many of whom sent heads of government or state, and EU Member States, some of which either did not attend or were represented by lower-level officials.