At a major launch event of the Center for Strategic International Studies’ (CSIS) Commission on Smart Global Health Policy in Washington today, a policy paper authored by R4D for the CSIS was released, addressing the future role of the U.S. government in innovative financing for health.

The report, “Innovative Financing for Global Health: A Moment for Expanded U.S. Engagement,” was authored by Robert Hecht, Amrita Palriwala, and Aarthi Rao from R4D. The authors argue in the paper that innovative financing instruments already in use and others currently being discussed in international forums could generate billions of additional dollars for new health technologies and expanded services for the poor, and could also improve the efficiency of spending on health programs in low and middle income countries.

Findings from the R4D paper are also incorporated in the CSIS Commission’s final report, “A healthier, safer and more prosperous world”, which was also released today.

The report by Hecht, Palriwala, and Rao looks at the rise of innovative financing tools for global health over the past decade, including the Advance Market Commitment for new vaccines, the International Financing Facility, debt-for-health swaps, and UNITAID, plus other proposals which are currently on the drawing board. The authors highlight the fact that even though U.S. academic institutions and think tanks have played an central role in innovative financing since 2000, the U.S. government has until now been only marginally engaged in backing these new financing instruments. They argue that the new Administration should become much more active in this area, consistent with its stated commitment to greater multilateralism and to more sustainable and results-oriented development assistance. Several recommendations for moving in this direction are given in the paper.

Click here to listen to Managing Director Robert Hecht discuss Innovative Financing for Global Health with Suzanne Brundage of the Center for Strategic International Studies.