About Treatment Monitoring and Advocacy Project

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Global Fund Can Be More Effective If It Improves Civil Society Participation in

All Aspects of Its Work

 

Treatment Monitoring and Advocacy Project - A Research Project conducted by the

India HIV/AIDS Alliance Report on How To Make This Happen

 

Contact:

Sonal Mehta: smehta@... ; 011-41633081

Padma Buggineni: pbuggineni@... ; 011-41633081

 

 

The report, Making Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanisms Work through Full

Engagement of Civil Society, provides key recommendations for the Global Fund

Secretariat, UN agencies, CCM leadership, and civil society.

 

The CCM Monitoring and Advocacy was a multi-national project (Argentina,

Jamaica, Cambodia, Uganda, Cameroon, Romania, and India) designed to review and

assess how civil society can have greater impact as an advocate for improved

Global Fund programming at the country level, principally through participation

on CCM. It was researched by the India HIV/AIDS Alliance in India.

 

Countries establish CCMs in order to apply for Global Fund resources and then to

manage Global Fund-supported projects.  CCMs are meant to bring together

multiple stakeholders to collectively identify country needs for AIDS, TB and

malaria services, design programming, and oversee implementation of Global

Fund-supported projects.

 

The CCM model shows great promise, and civil society involvement is key to

realising that promise. Yet, to date there has been very limited investment in

supporting civil society representatives so that they can be as effective as

possible on CCMs. This can and must be remedied as quickly as possible.

 

The innovative CCM model is a testament to how civil society engagement and

advocacy has strengthened the AIDS response in most countries.  However, there

is a long way to go for civil society representatives to be fully recognised as

equal players. And until this happens, and civil society steps up to the

challenge of advocating on behalf of the most marginalised, we will not deliver

on the promise of universal access to health.

 

Several overarching themes emerged through this research, including:

 

· Civil society CCM members have been responsible for notable contributions but,

in general, there is limited influence of civil society in proposal preparation,

shaping programme implementation, and programme oversight. This can be

attributed to the limited opportunities for capacity building of civil society

CCM members.

 

· There is a need to improve civil society representation of constituent

priorities as well as communication between civil society representatives and

the broader civil society sector.

 

· Civil society CCM representatives need more opportunities to build their

skills and capacities in a range of areas.

 

This report provides several recommendations to improve the CCM process and

ensure that Global Fund resources are used to the best advantage.

 

The Global Fund should:

 

· Do more to promote and invest in capacity building for civil society members

of CCMs.

 

· Empower CCMs to play the appropriate strategic performance monitoring and

programme implementation oversight role expected of them.

 

UNAIDS should:

· Help convene civil society on neutral ground outside of CCM meetings and

support efforts of civil society to identify strategic priorities and define an

advocacy agenda.

· Disseminate information and provide technical support to enable civil society

to play a more effective role in CCM deliberations. 

CCM leadership should:

 

· Provide resources and support to enable the full participation of civil

society representatives in CCM deliberations and ongoing communication with

constituencies.

· Ensure that civil society and all members of the CCM are engaged in oversight

of grant implementation.

Civil society representatives and organisations should:

 

· Seek funding to ensure civil society CCM members have access to the capacity

development opportunities they need.

· Communicate with the broader civil society sector and health care consumers,

including grassroots and underserved communities, on a regular basis.

· Address potential conflicts of interest openly by being transparent about the

financial involvement of civil society and other agencies represented on the

CCM.

· Create accountability mechanisms so that the civil society sector and health

consumers themselves can assess the work of civil society representatives and

provide input on how this representation can be improved.

The ultimate goal of the Global Fund, CCMs, and civil society is improving

health services for people living with HIV/AIDS and people affected by TB and

malaria. The CCM model has enormous potential to revolutionise healthcare

delivery, but only if healthcare consumers and their representatives can have a

strong and informed voice.

Padma Buggineni

Program Manager - Policy

India HIV/AIDS Alliance

Kushal House, Third Floor

39 Nehru Place

New Delhi 110019

India

e-mail: <buggineni_padma@...>