The Investment Fund was established by the Second session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP2) to provide predictable and sustained funding for the implementation of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. 

Unique as a funding mechanism, the Fund is structured on a capital investment fund, established through long term interest free loans, placed into an investment portfolio, managed by the World Bank as the Fund Trustee. The earned interest will support the activities of the Protocol, as directed by the Meeting of the Parties (MOP), its governing body.  The Fund is independently managed through its trustee, under the guidance of the MOP with the support of an independent Oversight Committee, comprised of global experts in investment management.

The Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products is an international treaty with the objective of eliminating all forms of illicit trade in tobacco products through a package of measures to be taken by countries acting in cooperation with each other: it is a global solution to a global problem.

The Protocol was developed in response to the growing illicit trade in tobacco products, often across borders. Illicit trade poses a serious threat to public health because it increases access to – often cheaper – tobacco products, thus fueling the tobacco epidemic and undermining tobacco control policies. It also causes substantial losses in government revenues, and at the same time contributes to the funding of international criminal activities. It entered into force on 25 September 2018.