Stretching Health Budgets: Global Fund, World Bank Expand Access to Pooled Procurement

The Global Fund’s online pooled procurement platform combines purchasing demand to secure competitive prices and more dependable supplies.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the World Bank Group have signed a Letter of Intent enabling countries to use World Bank financing to purchase quality-assured health products through wambo.org. The Global Fund's online pooled procurement platform combines purchasing demand to secure competitive prices and more dependable supplies. The agreement gives countries another purchasing option as pressure on health budgets grows and governments take greater responsibility for financing their health programmes.

The arrangement builds on a December 2025 Memorandum of Understanding to mobilise at least $2 billion in aligned financing over three years and improve access to quality-assured health products. Countries will decide whether to use wambo.org, with the platform available alongside national procurement systems and other existing channels. World Bank borrowers will be able to order through a streamlined process that meets the institution's requirements for financial oversight and proper use of funds.

Pooling orders from multiple buyers increases purchasing volumes, creating opportunities for better prices and stronger supply security across participating countries. In 2025, the Global Fund managed approximately $1.2 billion in procurement, including more than $1 billion through its pooled mechanism for programmes in over 80 countries. Additional buyers could strengthen that purchasing power, helping constrained health budgets cover more products from quality-assured suppliers.

World Bank financing opens another route to health supplies

Countries receiving support from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's fund for the poorest countries, will be able to use that financing for purchases through wambo.org. IDA is the world's largest source of concessional financing for the poorest countries, where health budgets face particularly severe pressure and purchasing efficiency can stretch available resources. Financing from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will provide the same procurement option for middle-income countries.

World Bank borrowers have access to procurement through United Nations agencies, and the Global Fund agreement adds another channel to that approach. The institutions intend to coordinate their financing more closely, reduce duplication and improve the support countries receive from the multilateral system. This cooperation also contributes to the World Bank Group's goal of helping countries deliver quality, affordable health services to 1.5 billion people by 2030.

Platform expansion supports greater country self-reliance

The Global Fund first allowed procurement financed outside its grants in 2017, with its Board making the mechanism a standard part of operations in 2022. A policy approved in July 2026 expanded its use further, supporting countries taking on a larger share of health spending without losing access to affordable, quality-assured products. The new agreement advances that expansion by connecting World Bank financing with the Global Fund's established purchasing platform.

Lower prices and reliable delivery put patients first

Global Fund Executive Director Peter Sands said countries financing their own health programmes should be able to obtain lifesaving medicines at the best available price and quality, regardless of the funding source. He described cooperation between the institutions as a way to make country financing go further and support access to essential supplies. World Bank Group Managing Director and Chief Knowledge Officer Paschal Donohoe stressed that efficient procurement means lower prices, dependable supplies and faster delivery for patients, helping more mothers, children and families receive care.

Tags: