16th GAVI BOARD MEETING
Paris, France, 19-20 July, 2005
Summary Report

8. The International Finance Facility for Immunization

• The UK’s Department for International Development stressed that given the large amount of public money that would be tied up in long-term commitments to an IFFIm, clear accountability and transparency of decision and monitoring processes will be especially important.
• The Vaccine Fund Board will need to make a decision about what kind of relationship is needed between it and the service providers it engages to implement certain IFFIm-related activities such as treasury management and procurement. The World Bank has expressed willingness to engage in a competitive process for treasury management services. UNICEF has not traditionally engaged in competitive processes for its services. A requirement for a competitive request for proposals (RFP) would therefore add certain complexities.
• The IFFImCo will require its own independent Board that will focus on financial issues. This Board will not review or change any programmatic policy decisions made by the GAVI Board.
• The use of IFFIm funding will not result in additional application procedures or monitoring requirements for countries.

DECISIONS

The Board:

8.1 Requested a timeline of decisions and milestones for the IFFIm, with the understanding that it would need to be flexible given all of the variables.

8.2 Agreed to schedule an exceptional Board teleconference in the autumn, if necessary, to make decisions required to keep the IFFIm on track.

8.3 Endorsed the concept of an MOU between the GAVI Board and the Vaccine Fund but requested that it be developed in the context of the ongoing discussions concerning the complementary roles of the GAVI and Vaccine Fund boards. A draft MOU will be circulated to the Board before it is signed.

8.4 Reiterated previous decisions that the process of disbursing IFFIm resources should be as simple as possible for the recipient countries, build upon the experiences gain in phase 1, and use existing mechanisms to the greatest degree possible.

8.5 Noted the request from DFID that there be a formal agreement between the Vaccine Fund and the procurement agent (currently UNICEF) to clearly outline deliverables, expectations and accountability. Board members expressed the view that whichever processes are decided, they should be consistent across all GAVI operations.