This is the sixth edition of an annual publication that the CE SI puts together to inform about the evolution of the SI and to spotlight partners’ work at country and regional level. The 2026 Update outlines key achievements of the SI in 2025/2026:
Preparing communities for GC8 – presents new guides, toolkits, costing tools, readiness workshops and technical assistance designed to help communities participate in country dialogue and GC8 funding request development. Dedicated GC8 technical assistance was already underway in 30 countries as of 31 May 2026.
Evolved approach to community engagement in Grant Cycle 8 (GC8) – presents the Global Fund’s updated approach and its three strategic pivots: moving beyond Global Fund-specific processes toward broader national health decision-making; shifting from disease-specific engagement to community leadership within integrated health systems; and promoting sustainable community participation supported by domestic financing, social contracting and community-led monitoring.
Differentiated community engagement according to country context – describes how support will be tailored to low-income countries, middle-income/transition countries and challenging operating environments, with different priorities related to community systems, financing, social contracting, safe participation and service continuity.
Results of community engagement support under GC7 (2024–2025) – provides a snapshot of technical assistance, engagement of key and vulnerable populations, and regional learning support, including 50 technical assistance assignments in 36 countries, national engagement plans in 25 countries and 63,139 people reached through regional learning support.
Community engagement in sustainability and transition – discusses the growing importance of community participation as countries transition toward domestic financing. Examples cover resource mobilisation, social contracting, health insurance, organisational sustainability and advocacy for domestic financing in countries including Tanzania, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan and others.
Community engagement in health innovations – highlights community involvement in introducing new technologies and approaches, including lenacapavir for HIV PrEP, near-point-of-care TB testing, digital engagement tools and pandemic preparedness, illustrated by country examples.
