Abstract
This chapter describes the donors’ role in global health supply chain, an area within the broader field of Responsible Operations. We start by defining global health and describing the major donors in this domain. Historically, these donors have had a paternalistic role of managing the procurement and other major supply chain management activities. More recently, their role closely resembles a financier, leaving the operational execution to its grant recipients (e.g., ministry of health) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We discuss emerging innovative financial mechanisms including performance-based funding and bridge-financing. These various roles and activities make evaluating value for money and preventing stockouts particularly challenging. Finally, we discuss opportunities for improvement of donor’s impact, specifically through knowledge transfer support to grant recipients.