First Disbursement, Execution Period and Reporting Calendar

First annual funding decision

The first annual funding decision for a new grant or implementation period is taken immediately after the grant is signed. The Global Fund Country Team will make the first annual funding decision (AFD) based on the grant cash requirements in line with the approved signed budget. Each annual funding decision includes the total amount that may be disbursed over a specified 12-month period, also known as the ‘execution period’ and can include a “buffer period” up to 6 months. In some cases, such as high-risk environments, the execution period may be six months. After the first annual funding decision, the PR submits an annual cash forecast for the next execution period plus a buffer amount (usually three months, or six months in exceptional circumstances). This forms part of the Progress Update/Disbursement Request (PU/DR) annexes and part of the Annual Financial Report (AFR). The approved budget for the execution period should be used as a basis for the forecast and all adjustments clearly reflected against the baseline budget.

For High Impact and Core portfolios, disbursements are made by the Global Fund on a quarterly basis or when the PR requires cash during the execution and buffer period covered by the annual funding decision. The first disbursement of the AFD is released with the approval of the AFD. Subsequent disbursements are reviewed by the Global Fund prior to the release of funds. Based on progress made, absorption level, in-country cash and increased cash needs due to acceleration of implementation, the subsequent disbursements can be modified downward or upward, postponed or cancelled by the Global Fund.

For Focused portfolios, the first disbursement of the AFD is released with the approval of the AFD. The Global Fund disburses funds twice based on the 1st AFD: once before or during year 1 of implementation and once during quarter one of year 2. The Global Fund can disburse the annual amounts based on approved budget.

For further details, please refer to the guidance on PU/DR and AFR/EFR in this section of the Manual and to the financial management section of the Manual.

Table 1:  Illustrative Example of Reporting Requirements for Y1 of a Programme with semesterly programmatic reporting requirements (Grant date: 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2026)

Pulse Checks

From October 2021, PRs from High-Impact and Core portfolios are required to submit quarterly Pulse Checks. The 2024 guidance provides some updates: The pulse checks are expected to be completed only at Q1 and Q3 of each grant implementation year. Some enhancements have been included in the form design and mode of data entry. Pulse checks are no longer available in excel sheets. The forms must be completed and submitted online through the Global Fund Partner portal. In addition, it is now required to report on Workplan tracking measures (WPTM) for C19RM grant types

The content of the pulse check tool is divided in the programmatic and the financial sections:

A-Programmatic section

The subset of the PF’s indicators and C19RM WPTM selected by the Global Fund are pre-filled in the pulse check reporting form. The programmatic section includes the following:

1-Coverage elementary indicators
In this section, the numerator and the denominator of each coverage indicator are entered in separate cells according to the definition of the indicator. The PR should enter a respective value into each cell. The numerators and denominators that are common across multiple standard coverage indicators will appear only once in the form and require single data entry.

2-Coverage indicators
No data entry is required in this section. The result of each coverage indicator is automatically calculated using the data from the elementary indicator section.
The PR completes the comment box, especially for over or underperforming indicators. Comments should include

• Progress towards the semester performance targets, as applicable
• Trends over time and comparison to the same period last year , when applicable
• Analysis of results considering National level, Subnational level (ex: five most and worst performing districts); Implementing partner/Sub-recipient…
• Planned or on-going improvement actions where needed.

3-Work plan tracking measures
The PR is required to select one of the four status options for each WPTM (Not started, Started, Advanced, Completed) and to provide a performance analysis on:

• Progress made and results achieved;
• Reasons for deviation from workplan activities and milestones, as applicable;
• Catch-up plans and any other contextual information

B-Financial section

PR cash reconciliation and SR and prepayment advance balances

Pulse Checks are available for completion by the PR by the end of the first week in the following quarter. Submission deadlines are extended into the following month to allow PRs 35 days from the end of the reporting quarter to complete the Pulse Check.

Detailed user guidance on Pulse Checks is available in English, French and Spanish on the Global Fund’s webpage How We Oversee Grants.

Additional guidance to support this area of work are also available through resources listed below:

• Global Fund Implementation Oversight - Principal Recipient Reporting
• Global Fund Guidelines: Completing and Submitting Pulse Checks Guide for Principal Recipients
• Global Fund Information Sessions on Pulse Checks