Tag: Global Fund Board

The Global Fund Board approved transition funding for Kosovo

Posted on by Milutin

During the 47th Global Fund Board meeting held from 10 –12 May 2022 in Geneva, the Board discussed and approved changes to the Global Fund’s Eligibility Policy and approved the allocation methodology for the 2023-2025 allocation period. The Global Fund’s Eligibility Policy spells out three main criteria the organization uses to determine countries’ eligibility to receive an allocation for one or more disease components – HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria. The three determinants are:

  • Countries with the highest disease burden.
  • Those with the least economic capacity.
  • Where key and vulnerable populations are disproportionately affected by the three diseases.

The Board approved changes to the Eligibility Policy on the first two of the main determinants: disease burden and income category.

Based on the changes to the Eligibility Policy, upper-middle-income countries are eligible for Global Fund malaria investments if there is documentation of artemisinin resistance and/or partner resistance to malaria drugs. Also, regardless of the disease burden UMI countries are eligible if they are small states but are not islands that qualify for International Development Association support.

The Board also approved the Strategy Committee and the Secretariat’s proposal to extend the eligibility of six components (grants) for the additional allocation of Transition Funding for the 2023-2025 allocation period.  The six components are Armenia HIV, Guatemala TB and malaria, Guyana malaria, and Kosovo HIV and TB. The extension will allow the financing of important transition activities that are essential to support the countries’ move away from a reliance on Global Fund financing.

More information on the approved changes to the Eligibility Policy and 2023-2025 allocation methodology you may find following this link>>>.

 

Ukraine Counts – statement of the Civil Society and Communities Delegations to the Global Fund Board

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Joint Statement of three delegations to the Board of the Global Fund

On the eve of our collective call to “Fight for What Counts,” the invasion of Ukraine has indeed catalysed the Global Fund partnership’s call to action.

At this week’s Preparatory Meeting for the Global Fund’s ambitious replenishment ask of 18 Billion US dollars, the Communities Delegation to the Board – speaking on behalf of the Civil Society and Communities Delegations – recognised that “Marginalised communities and populations are the first to suffer the consequences of any global pandemic and conflict. Around the world, they are our constant reminder that AIDS, TB and malaria do not go away in times of crisis.”

Ukrainian people and communities are suffering and will continue to suffer the graver consequences of the ongoing invasion and bombing of Ukrainian cities and the killing of Ukrainian citizens. The immensity of this destabilisation and the huge social, political, economic and personal cost of this conflict to populations and individuals across the region is yet to be seen. The highest costs are likely to be paid by the most marginalised – in lives, in loss of homes and livelihoods, in rising illness, in lack of access to health care, food security and education, in displacement and forced migration.

All these horrific costs are being paid by people and communities. At the same time, the life-saving services provided and progress achieved over many years in Ukraine with the support of the Global Fund are disrupted and devastated. We urge all in the GF partnership to recognise that those who stayed in Ukraine’s conflict zones and those who have left will need massive support to restore services, to provide for ongoing needs and to ensure continuity of and access to essential prevention, care and treatment.

As we actively place “communities at the center,” and in continuing global solidarity with our many friends and colleagues caught in the horror of war today, we urgently call on Global Fund to immediately and ambitiously provide support and as much protection as possible to affiliated staff in Ukraine (including CCM members and Principle Recipients), implementers (including Sub-Recipients and all other implementing partners), as well as people receiving needed services and support through Global Fund’s country and regional programs.

To that end we collectively call for the immediate deployment of Global Fund emergency funds to serve the needs of communities and civil society organisations that are arising as a result of the crisis in Ukraine.

Everyone can do their part to advocate, speak up, contribute, commit, pray and stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine – our friends, our colleagues and our families. There are immediate needs for food and medical supplies, treatments, diagnostics, and more.

This is where the power of our Global Fund partnership can most meaningfully influence, intervene and save lives.

Our delegations deplore and condemn the actions of Russia against the sovereignty and basic human rights of the Ukrainian people. It is up to the strong solidarity and ambition of our partnership to mitigate the damage and destruction to people and programs caused by the actions of Russia.

With appropriate and immediate action, we can help to preserve the impact that the Global Fund has achieved in Ukraine – and across the broader region – over the past 20 years.

We are able, we are uniquely positioned and we are obligated to do so by our commitment to saving lives, protecting human rights and upholding humanity.

Communities Delegation to the Board of the Global Fund
Developing Country NGO Delegation to the Board of the Global Fund
Developed Country MGO Delegation to the Board of the Global Fund
25 February 2022

Our initiative presented at the Global Fund Board meeting

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The Developing Country NGO Delegation at the Global Fund published a statement with the 42nd Board Meeting highlights, including 8 important matters they pushed for at the meeting, with ways that civil society can move them forward. The statement is available following this link>>>

The initiative of the three regional networks: Correlation – European Harm Reduction Network, Eurasian Harm reduction Network and Drug Policy Network South East Europe to respond to the critical situation concerning the sustainability of harm reduction services in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Romania was among the issues that the Delegation raised at the Global Fund Board meeting. It is mentioned in the point 4 of the statement:

Addressing civil society concerns: The Developing Country NGO brought to the Board and bilateral meetings concerns raised by civil society organisations including those by nearly 100 NGOs about the ending of multi-country grants in West Africa; cases of the failed transitions and interruption of services for key populations, including the lack of funding for harm reduction programs in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina , Romania and Bulgaria; and exploring next steps to ensure access to health services, treatment and care in Venezuela.

We hope that the Global Fund will make some concrete steps in helping us find a quick response to the urgent needs and building a sustainable solution in these countries.

 

SEE HIV Ministerial Meeting

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The Prime Minister and Minister of Health of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia hosted a South-Eastern European Ministerial Meeting on Sustainable Responses to HIV and TB in Skopje on 7 May 2018. The aim of the Ministerial Meeting was to discuss the progress, challenges and opportunities towards reaching sustainable responses to HIV and TB in South-Eastern Europe. Civil society representatives had an opportunity to join the high level representatives from all SEE countries, donors and global development partners and exchange about progress made and what remains to be done to meet the goal of ending the AIDS and tuberculosis epidemics in the region as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The ministers recognized increasing ownership of the national responses to the diseases, as external financial support including from the Global Fund is transitioning to support countries with the highest global burdens of disease and least economic capacity. The ministers expressed commitment to allocating domestic funding for and ensuring access to HIV and tuberculosis treatment for all, guided by governance structures that involve civil society and affected communities along with health professionals and technical partners. Still, a few comments from the civil organisations warned that the situation is far from satisfying and that “behind numbers are people about whom we need to care” – as underlined by the DPNSEE Board member Denis Dedajić.

DPNSEE representatives Vlatko Dekov, Chairman of the Board, Denis Dedajić, Secretary of the Board and Milutin Milošević, Executive Director, met with several Global Fund Board members, country representatives, donors and civil society colleagues. An important meeting was the one with Ekaterina Lukicheva from the Open Society Foundations International Harm Reduction Development Program and Raminta Štuikyte, consultant about the budget advocacy and implementation project and other ideas for future cooperation.

Photo with Peter Sands, the Executive Director of the Global Fund

The Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, at its 39th Board meeting, highlighted the importance of strengthening sustainability and supporting successful transition to domestic financing to build long-term solutions and achieve greater health security.

The Global Fund is committed to being a good partner in working toward sustainability, acting as a catalyst to additional investment, filling short-term gaps, and addressing bottlenecks to successful transition to more domestic funding. While shifting financing often includes challenges, including how to effectively fund civil society, transition increases country ownership and is necessary to end epidemics.

An important news for the region is that the Board approved an approach to ineligible upper-middle income countries in crisis where economic and epidemiological metrics are collapsing and where spill overs threaten regional progress against HIV, TB and malaria.

More about the Board meeting is available at the Global Fund website following this link >>>

Joint Statement from Romanian civil society urging Global Fund to maintain funding

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In advance to the upcoming 36th Meeting of the Global Fund Board on the 16th and 17th of November, the representatives of Romanian civil society organizations, including people living with HIV and TB and key populations, published a joint statement to express their deep concern about the potential disconnect between a successful replenishment and the small or non-existent allocations that will be made available for countries like Romania and upper middle income countries with HIV epidemics that are still not controlled. They are afraid that there is a high risk that the allocation for the HIV component for Romania for the next three years could be zero – the same as it was the previous allocation period.

 

The last Global Fund HIV grant for Romania so far came to an end in 2010. Already in 2013, Romania’s HIV disease burden was increased to ‘high’. An alarm was issues and a targeted concept note was developed and submitted, but was not supported by the Global Fund. AT the same time, the key barrier to a sustainable HIV prevention program and HIV/AIDS sector in Romania is the lack of political will to fund the program by the Government. Results are devastating and organisations urge the Global Fund to introduce “a differentiated investment approach in which funding decisions are guided by considerations of need and impact.”

 

You can read the full joint statement following this link

Joint Statement of Romanian Civil Society Organizations in advance to the Thirty Sixth Meeting of the Global Fund Board