The Global Action Plan for healthy lives and well-being for all (GAP) initiative, launched in 2018, seeks to enhance interagency collaboration and accelerate progress towards the health-related targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UNFPA, along with 12 other agencies— Gavi, GFF, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, ILO, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNICEF, UNITAID, UN Women, WFP, WHO, and the World Bank—are signatories to this initiative. 

In 2024, WHO Evaluation Office led a joint evaluation of the GAP initiative. The UNFPA Independent Evaluation Office participated in the Evaluation Management Group, alongside evaluation offices from GEF, Global Fund, ILO, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNICEF, UNITAID, UN Women, WFP, and the World Bank. Covering 67 countries where the GAP approach was applied, the evaluation assesses the coherence, effectiveness, and sustainability of collaborative efforts from 2019 to 2024 at the country, regional, and global levels. The evaluation results are informing discussions among agency principals on the future of the GAP.

The evaluation concludes that, globally, the GAP aligns well with current and past international health initiatives, demonstrating continuity and opportunities to build on previous work. However, despite initial support from agency principals, achieving interagency coherence and country engagement has been challenging. While there is insufficient evidence to definitively conclude that the GAP has met, or will meet, its objectives of accelerating progress towards SDG 3 targets, it has not hindered progress. Importantly, the sustainability of the GAP and its outcomes must be considered within the broader context of global health and individual country contexts, where few are on track to achieve SDG 3 targets.

Based on the evaluation results, two potential paths forward were proposed. The first path suggests closing out the current GAP within six to twelve months, contingent upon the agencies reaching a consensus on whether closure serves their collective best interest. Alternatively, the second path recommends developing a new framework that retains select GAP elements. This evaluation equips signatory agencies with the necessary information—including evidence, benefits, trade-offs, and risks—to inform their decision-making regarding the future of the GAP. The management response accepts the first option and commits to preparing a 6-9 month sunsetting and close-out action plan with key milestones.