Strengthening Africa’s Country Coordinating Mechanisms 2012 – ongoing
Accountability International has been working on Global Fund on AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) Country Coordinating Mechanisms since 2012 and a large body of work exists in this area.
You will find here a variety of work in this area, but the website does not contain all our work on CCMs.
Our long term goal has always remained the same:
In order to achieve this goal the projects aims are:
1. Increase transparency (usually using data and research);
2. Promote dialogue between and amongst stakeholders and to ensure the voices of the most marginalised are meaningfully included;
3. Ensure action and practical steps are taken and resources allocated to make the necessary changes.
The overall medium term goal of this initiative is to increase the meaningful participation of marginalised people and communities infected or affected by the three diseases in Country Coordinating Mechanisms.
If you require further information please contact info[AT]accountability[DOT]international
This work was led by Phillipa Tucker (2010 - 2019) with Gemma Oberth (2011-2014).
Since 2016, Accountability International has participated actively in the CCM Working Group. Our role has been to give our technical input on the CCM Evolution Project when that began and to push for improved accountability and empowering of civil society at the national level to hold the CCMs accountable. The work covered everything from operational discussions on the necessary metrics and indicators to track CCM performance during this first phase of implementation of the pilot, to defining the differentiated CCM models, input on oversight , audits, the conflict of interest and ethics documents and a myriad of other technical issues.
Accountability International made many advocacy requests during this time. One of the most significant in our analysis was the successful request to allocate 15% of the CCM budgets to community consultation or the CCM lost the funds. We are in the process of analysing the impact of this very pragmatic way to ensure community inclusion, and will post the results here when they are completed.
Accountability International has continuously argued for the inclusion of more civil society representation in the CCM Working Group and we were assured in 2019 in writing that other NGOs representing communities will be in working in the space in this year.
1 Day 1. AI Phillipa Tucker March 2017
1 Meeting Minutes -CCM Working Group 16-17 March 2017
2 CCM evolution in light ot GF Strategy May 2017
3 Agenda_Anglophone_Africa_Regional_CCM_Consultation August 2017
4 Agenda CCM Working Group January 2018
4 CCM Evolution_For Consultation_Updated January 2018
5 CCM Performance Framework - With Changes Standard June 2018
5 CCM Working Presentation June 2018
5 CCM Working Group Agenda_June 12 2018
As part of the first Accountability Pre Conference held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire on 3rd December 2017, the CCM project hosted a panel on What Community Watchdogs Can Do: Holding Funding Partners Accountable.
Accountability has been identified as a key factor in improving the response to health development needs in Africa and worldwide. Exactly how accountability functions as a panacea for the gaps in health policy development and health care service delivery is not well understood by many in the field and is seldom implemented in any actionable form.
The CCM project has as its aim greater accountability to LGBTQ people, women and girls and in the panel we hosted a panel titled: What Community Watchdogs Can Do: Holding Funding Partners Accountable.
- Olive Mumba of EANASSO shared the Findings from the CSO and Communities National Shadow Reports on Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanisms.
- Martin Mary Falana of Kids and Teens Nigeria presented on The Impact of the CCM Shadow Report at Country Level.
- Ida Hakizinka, AIDSPAN spoke about The Impact of Watchdogging on Global Fund Accountability.
- Phillipa Tucker of Accountability International presented on A Greater Role for CSOs in Holding Funding Partners Accountable: Findings from the CCM Scorecard.
The main objectives of the exchange
- Improve Accountability Literacy.
- Showcase innovative projects and work that increase accountability to sexually diverse Africans.
- Exhibit how funding partners such as the Global Fund can be held accountable to the public.
- Present the watchdog work of other civil society organisations working on accountability.
Outcomes
- Discuss trends in accountability, governance and identify and examine the common threads/trends that have always existed and that are emerging.
- Highlight and share successful and unsuccessful accountability lessons regionally and globally. For participants to learn from other partners what strategies are being used to increase accountability.
- Foster partnerships between the participants in order to inspire and enhance effective and sustained work on accountability.
- Rethink how civil society deals with accountability, and interrogate new lenses, new strategies and new opportunities.
- Expand the capacity and network of participants.
The CCM Scorecard and Country CCM Shadow Reports is a nine country study that saw communities and civil society watchdogs evaluate the CCMs against the Global Fund's own Eligibility Performance Assessment, and research for themselves how their CCMs are performing, as a means to improve accountability.
Download Report here
Download Scorecard Poster here
Download the individual Country Scorecards below:
The Regional Platform for Anglophone Africa, hosted by EANNASO, is pleased to share a new video toolkit developed in partnership with AIDS Accountability International (AAI) and the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO). The toolkit aims to equip civil society and community groups with new skills to influence decision-making processes about health. This toolkit can be applied to a wide range of health decision-making processes, including influencing Global Fund concept notes, national strategic plans, PEPFAR country operational plans, among others.
The toolkit called: How to Influence Decision-Making Processes about Health is a video which can be played via YouTube. (Click on the modules below)
Introduction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbcPKgtvQ2g&t=4s
Module 1 – How to Hold a Successful Consultation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQgrHAz61Kg
Module 2 – How to Publish an Outcome Document https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cIUkHekhRI
Module 3 – How to Advocate with Your Results https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JtAwj4oYcw
Module 4 – How to Measure your Impact https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92RmzGFUlIA
Module 5 – How to Use your Results for Change https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOj150PTNz8
Closing Summary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGUitGZ-Ctg
a. The Civil Society Priorities Charter – Good Practice for Global Fund Country Dialogue
Accountability International has launched a new brief to document and share the Civil Society Priorities Charter as good practice for country dialogue within the Global Fund's New Funding Model (NFM). A core principle of the NFM is that the development of requests for funding (concept notes) should be inclusive and participatory, meaningfully engaging civil society and key affected populations.
Our model of the Civil Society Priorities Charter strengthens civil society's advocacy by promoting a more coordinated agenda that is based upon a consensus of priorities. Participation from marginalized groups such as women, young girls, and key affected populations, was particularly important in this process.
The brief captures the process of creating the Civil Society Priorities Charters, sharing experiences, challenges, impact and results from the five countries which have already completed their Charters (Malawi, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe). Through sharing the good practice of the Civil Society Priorities Charter, the model may be replicated or adapted in other countries and contexts as they begin country dialogue.
CLICK HERE to download the brief.
“I believe that it is a good initiative as this will prepare the CSOs to actively engage in the country dialogue. We really appreciate the support you are providing in many countries including in Malawi and I am convinced with this support a strong concept note will be submitted by Malawi”
Plaikessi Kouadjani, Global Fund Portfolio Manager for Malawi
“We utilized the Charters to do country dialogues on the NFM TB concept note and the proposal writing is now on-going in Midlands. The Charters were guiding the processes”
Sebia Kwaramba, Zimbabwe AIDS Network
With the Global Fund's New Funding Model fast approaching, and many countries already underway with concept note writing, the timing is vital to ensure that inclusive and consultative procedures are part of the requests for funding. The Global Fund is very clear that country dialogue must include input from various stakeholders, not just from government and those who sit on the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM). Civil society organizations must be part of this process, especially those that represent key populations, people living with HIV/TB/malaria, women, young girls, LGBT individuals and people living with disabilities.
To help ensure that concept note writing includes as many voices as possible, especially those of the marginalized, Accountability International is hosting a series of in-country workshops for local civil society to develop a Priorities Charter, which gets taken to the CCM and used as an advocacy roadmap to help make sure that the concept note includes the voice of civil society.
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On 30-31 October 2013, 57 participants from 36 partner organizations met in Mbabane and created the Swaziland Civil Society Priorities Charter. It was formally presented to the CCM during the CCM meeting on November 14th, and has now been submitted by civil society members as an official reference document to be used during concept note writing. CLICK HERE to view the Swaziland Civil Society Priorities Charter |
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On 20 November 2013, 54 participants from 40 partner organizations met in Lusaka and created the Zambia Civil Society Priorities Charter. This was a side event at the High Impact Africa II Meeting hosted by the Global Fund. The Charter was formally presented to the CCM during the final CCM meeting on 10 December 2013. CLICK HERE to view the Zambia Civil Society Priorities Charter |
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On 13 February 2014, 45 participants from 37 partner organizations met in Lilongwe and created the Malawi Civil Society Priorities Charter. Delegates traveled from Blantyre, Chitipa, Karonga, Mchinji, Mzuzu, Nkhotakota, Ntcheu, Ntchisi, Thyolo and Zomba to represent their constituencies. CLICK HERE to view the Malawi Civil Society Priorities Charter |
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On 14 March 2014, 65 participants representing 50 partner organizations gathered at AAI’s workshop (co-hosted with The Southern African AIDS Trust and the Zimbabwe AIDS Network) in Harare and created the Zimbabwe Civil Society Priorities Charter. Delegates traveled from Gweru, Zvishavane, Masvingo, Chiredzi, Gwanda, Bulawayo, Hwange, Chinhoyi, Rushinga, Birchnough and Mutare to represent their constituencies. CLICK HERE to view the Zimbabwe Civil Society Priorities Charter |
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On 9 May 2014, AAI hosted 89 participants representing 78 partner organizations in Dar es Salaam, to create the Tanzania Civil Society Priorities Charter. The workshop was co-hosted with the Southern African AIDS Trust and The National Council for People Living with HIV/AIDS Tanzania (NACOPHA), and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance and Tanzania Council for Social Development (TACOSODE) hosted a pre-meeting for key populations on 8 May 2014. The document reflects input from delegates who traveled from Bukoba, Dodoma, Karagwe, Kibaha, Mbozi, Mpanda, Ruvuma, Shinyanga, Sikonge, Songea, Sumbawange, Tuduma, Ukerwe Islands and Zanzibar, to represent their constituencies in the Charter. CLICK HERE to view the Tanzania Civil Society Priorities Charter |
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On 20 June 2014, The Zanzibar AIDS Commission hosted a workshop for civil society in Zanzibar to create their Priorities Charter for the Global Fund New Funding Model. The workshop was hosted in partnership with UNAIDS and was facilitated by Accountability International. The Zanzibar Civil Society Priorities Charter represents a consensus among 67 participants representing 51 partner organizations. The International HIV/AIDS Alliance worked closely with the Key Populations Network (KP Network) to host a pre-meeting for key populations on 19 June 2014. Delegates travelled from both Pemba and Unguja to represent their constituencies. CLICK HERE to view the Zanzibar Civil Society Priorities Charter |
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On 30-31 July 2014, the Uganda Network of AIDS Service Organizations (UNASO) hosted a workshop at the Africana Hotel in Kampala, Uganda, for civil society organizations to set their priorities for the upcoming HIV/TB concept note to the Global Fund. The workshop was held in partnership with the East African National Networks of AIDS Service Organizations and AIDS Accountability International, bringing together 100 participants from 56 different partner organizations. Ahead of this two day workshop, partners of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, including those from the Link Up an SHARP programmes, held a pre-meeting for young key populations. At this pre-meeting, held on 25 July 2014, participants created The Young Key Populations Charter, to be used for advocacy during the wider stakeholder meeting. CLICK HERE to view the Uganda Civil Society Priorities Charter |
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On 20-22 August 2014, 44 participants from 32 partner organizations met outside Nairobi, Kenya at Maanzoni Lodge to create the Kenya Civil Society Priorities Charter. The workshop was hosted by Aidspan, in partnership with the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, KANCO, lvct Health, KeNAAM, and with technical support from Accountability International and EANNASO. Each of the priority areas are supported by an in-depth case study, researched and written by local civil society organizations. Links to these case studies can be found inside the Charter. CLICK HERE to view the Kenya Civil Society Priorities Charter |
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AIDS Accountability International is proud to have co-hosted and facilitated the SA Country Dialogue with Southern African AIDS Trust and the SA National AIDS Committee Civil Society Forum in Johannesburg on 1 and 2 March 2015. This meeting represented the most important civil society meeting on funding for health in Socuth Africa for CSOs in 2015. AI applied our Priorities Charter methodology to develop a consensus amongst CSOs on what the concept note that gets submitted to the Global Fund should include. South African SANAC Civil Society Forum Priorities Charter Final |
b. The Zanzibar Key Stakeholders Priorities Charter: A Model for Inclusive Participation in Global Fund Country Dialogue
Since October 2013, Accountability International has been supporting countries to produce Civil Society Priorities Charters for the Global Fund New Funding Model. Based on the successes and impact of this tool, AI was invited by the Zanzibar Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism (ZGFCCM) to facilitate a workshop to bring together a variety of different stakeholders including government, civil society, key populations, the private sector, academic, trade unions, people living with the diseases, among others. The objective was to gather input and set priorities for Zanzibar's upcoming concept notes for HIV/TB and malaria, to be submitted on 15 October 2014 to the Global Fund. At the Workshop, the Zanzibar Civil Society Priorities Charter, which AI supported civil society in Zanzibar to produce, was presented by Omar Abdalla Ali with ZANGOC (Zanzibar NGO Cluster for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control) and used to guide the process.
The outcome of this workshop is the Zanzibar Key Stakeholders Priorities Charter, which will be used to guide the Proposal Development Task Force in writing the Zanzibar concept notes to the Global Fund. The Charter represents a consensus of more than 95 individuals representing 77 different partner organizations in Zanzibar.
AI commends Zanzibar on this good practice. When constituencies meet individually to set priorities and then come together to discuss and debate, this creates further transparency around country dialogue. The Zanzibar model of first creating a Civil Society Priorities Charter, then ensuring it feeds into a wider, more consultative Key Stakeholders Priorities Charter, should be seen as an example for other countries.
CLICK HERE to read the Zanzibar Key Stakeholders Priorities Charter.
For the last three years, Accountability International’s (AI) work to stimulate greater accountability from funding partners – particularly the Global Fund – has focused on countries in Southern Africa. Based on the impact and successes of that work and its publication as good practice (Oberth, 2013; Oberth, 2014), AI has partnered with vested stakeholders in Kenya, Tanzania (Mainland and Zanzibar) and Uganda to scale up our work to East Africa and ensure that the Global Fund is accountable to women, young girls and LGBT communities there.
In August 2014, Daniel Molokele (Deputy Executive Director) and Gemma Oberth (Senior Researcher) represented AI in three different national and regional forums to promote greater transparency around Global Fund country dialogue.
The AI team started in Kenya where we were brought in as technical partners to facilitate civil society country dialogue for Kenya’s upcoming HIV/TB concept note to the Global Fund (to be submitted 15 January 2015). As impartial and unbiased facilitators, AI is able to draw out key priorities from various marginalized groups, including MSM, sex workers, people with disabilities, the TB community and other civil society representatives. The workshop was a national level training for civil society focusing on the Global Fund and the use of data in planning for the New Funding Model. The training workshop was held from 20-22 August at Maanzoni Hotel, just outside Nairobi, and hosted by Aidspan, in partnership with various partners such as International HIV Alliance, EANNASO, KANCO, LVCT Health and KENAAM. The outcome of the workshop will be The Kenya Civil Society Priorities Charter, produced by AI as part of an initiative we have led in eight African countries, in partnership with the Ford Foundation.
After supporting civil society in Kenya to set priorities for the Global Fund New Funding Model, AI travelled to Zanzibar where we facilitated a multi-stakeholder Priorities Charter development workshop. AI’s technical support was requested by the Secretariat of the Zanzibar Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism (ZGFCCM), based on our previous work supporting civil society and key populations dialogues (in partnership with the International HIV/AIDS Alliance) and developing the Zanzibar Civil Society Priorities Charter, an initiative led by AI.
The multi stakeholder consultation in Zanzibar was held on 25 August 2014 and was attended by representatives from diverse sectors in Zanzibar that included government departments, civil society, key populations, development partners, academia and private sector. The outcome of this workshop will be the Zanzibar Key Stakeholder Priorities Charter, which AI will produce based on the priorities set at the meeting. The Charter is intended to guide the concept note development process in Zanzibar for both their HIV/TB concept note and Malaria concept note (both to be submitted on 15 October 2015). Some of the top priorities among the key stakeholders were on issues around treatment, care and support, behaviour change and also on health systems strengthening, among others.
Lastly, from 26-28 August 2014, AI travelled to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to participate in a regional civil society meeting that was hosted by EANNASO. The meeting was attended by civil society members of CCMs across several countries in East Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania (Mainland and Zanzibar), Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Ethiopia. The participants shared their experiences and lessons learnt from their active participation on CCMs, particularly focusing on civil society engagement in the concept note development process for the Global Fund New Funding Model. At the meeting, AI conducted a session on Accountability Literacy, building the capacity of the delegates to hold other CCM members accountable through greater transparency, dialogue and action. A key outcome of the meeting was the launch of a regional civil society CCM forum and also the election of steering Committee.
The AI team was impressed with the level of commitment and support from the various partners across East Africa and now looks forward to developing more opportunities for programme partnerships in the region. Accountability International's work on CCMs and GFATM are kindly funded by funding partner Ford Foundation, South Africa Office.
In the third issue of the Regional AIDS Training Network (RATN) publication “Success Stories in Capacity Building for HIV and AIDS Responses”, AIDS Accountability’s project on Strengthening Africa’s Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM) is acknowledged.
The Success Stories publications was launched by RATN in 2012, to foster information sharing and ensure effective capacity building. The Success Stories booklet is one of their initiatives which ensure that efforts put in capacity building are documented and shared widely for replication and sharing of lessons learnt. In this issue, six stories of success are featured. It presents stories, lessons learnt and
best practices in projects that have been implemented in the recent past from across the Eastern and Southern Africa region.
The chapter on AIDS Accountability’s work, entitled “Participate in Global Fund Decision-Making” highlights the capacity building goals of the project:
- Increase Global Funds, CCM and grantee’s accountability to women, girls and LGBT people.
- Increase mutual accountability at CCM level amongst participants.
- Increase accountability of civil society to women, girls and SOGI groups.
- Promote greater engagement of women,girls and SOGI groups at country level in CCMs.
- Develop capacity of women’s, girls and SOGI groups to meaningfully participate in CCMs.
Further, it shares voices from project participants about the impact and usefulness of the project’s outputs, as well as the scalability and replicability of the work.
“We have already started using the report to establish some gender transformative gaps in the MGFCC (Malawi Global Fund Coordinating Committee Chair) that the project by SAT (Southern African AIDS Trust) with support from GIZ is planning to support” – CCM Member Ruth Mwandira, DFID, Malawi
“I flew over Malawi for new latitudes and I’m serving now in Guyana, South America. Nevertheless, I believe I can use the reports here as well as we have many challenges with the local CCM.” – CCM Member Roberto Campos, UNAIDS, Guyana
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
10 September 2014
AI’s latest report on Global Fund accountability highlights the voices of marginalized groups on Africa’s Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs) and among related stakeholders. All too often, the voices of marginalized people are not heard in decision-making spaces, resulting in barriers to access and unmet health needs.
The release of this report comes at a time when many countries around the world are in the process of writing and submitting concept notes to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Within the Fund’s New Funding Model, the content of the concept notes must reflect input from an inclusive and participatory country dialogue. The process must involve civil society, especially representatives of women, young girls and individuals who are marginalized because of their sexual orientation and gender identities, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals.
This report draws on original AAI research from 2012 and 2013, including 91 interviews from 7
African countries: Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Those interviewed include government, civil society, people living with HIV, the faith-based community, funding partners and others, many of whom are CCM members or related stakeholders.
This report draws out seven major themes from key informant interview data, which highlight shared regional challenges and successes when it comes to effective CCM functionality and how that impacts preparedness for the New Funding Model.
CLICK HERE to download the Report.
This work is kindly supported by
a. NEW ROLE FOR AAI AS GLOBAL FUND WATCHDOGS
From 2014-2015, AI will be accepting financial resources from the Global Fund to provide technical assistance to the CCM in Swaziland; in the interests of transparency we need to emphasize that we remain committed to maintaining our position as a watchdog of the Global Fund, and ensuring greater accountability to women, girls and key affected populations.
Since 2011, Accountability International (AI) has been working to achieve greater accountability from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and malaria, especially for women, girls and those marginalized by their sexual orientation and gender identities (SOGI) in Africa. Our project “Strengthening Africa’s Country Coordinating Mechanisms” includes original qualitative and quantitative research on the accountability of CCMs in Southern Africa (see “Who is really affecting the Global Fund decision making process?”). Based on the findings of this research, AI’s key recommendation for the Global Fund’s New Funding Model (NFM) is a more coordinated civil society response. To support civil society to engage meaningfully AI hosted five capacity building workshops in Swaziland, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Tanzania to support partners in country to produce advocacy roadmaps for the NFM (see “Civil Society Priorities Charters for the Global Fund New Funding Model”). As this project will be completed in August 2014, AI is committed to our continuing role as Global Fund watchdogs. We would also like to acknowledge the efforts of the Global Fund to be more accountable to marginalized groups, which is why AI finds it timeous to provide technical assistance on the KP/PLWD engagement pilot.
AI has accepted an invitation to be part of the Global Fund’s two-year pilot project to increase the engagement of civil society, key populations and people living with HIV, TB and malaria in the Global Fund’s New Funding Model. For this pilot, AI will be providing guidance and oversight to the CCM in Swaziland, helping to make sure that programming through the pilot is supporting marginalized groups to participate more meaningfully in Global Fund decision making. AI will also be reporting to the Global Fund Secretariat on Swaziland’s successes and challenges throughout the pilot.
The amount designated for this work is USD 5000/year for two years. AI has carefully considered this potential conflict of interest and has deemed our ability to ensure accountability to key affected populations in Swaziland as a greater benefit than not participating. The amount of money received will cover programmatic costs during the pilot project, with much of AI's time given as pro bono.
ABOUT THE PILOT
For the purposes of this pilot, resources will be made available to 10 CCMs. The funds will be managed by CCM members representing people living with HIV and/or affected by HIV, tuberculosis and malaria and used to achieve increased and more meaningful involvement of key populations in Global Fund related country processes i.e. country dialogues processes, concept note development and CCM participation.
During the pilot, these CCM members will be supported by a regional civil society partner organization or network of their choice. These organizations will provide ongoing support throughout the pilot and document its effectiveness.
For Swaziland, AI is the regional partner to:
- Provide on-going support and documentation to the implementation of the pilot in Swaziland, by advising the CCM members on their key population engagement plans and monitoring that resources are used to appropriately;
- Identify areas that require immediate attention and liaise with the Country Team and other relevant teams at the Global Fund Secretariat in order to identify appropriate actions, including leveraging of technical assistance;
- Provide interim reports to the Global Fund Secretariat (maximum one page), documenting progress and challenges toward to objective of the pilot.
To read the full Concept Note, CLICK HERE.
Brazzaville, Congo. 5 – 7 March, 2014
With the deadline of the Millennium Development Goals fast approaching, over 60 partners from the African Union, Regional Economic Communities, civil society, UN organizations and development partners met in Brazzaville, Congo, from 5-7 March 2014 to streamline harmonization and coordination of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria responses.
Accountability International attended as presenters, reporting to the room on our work done to involve communities in decision making and programming, working towards universal access to services especially for marginalized and vulnerable populations, such as women, young girls and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals. AI shared our advocacy work in the SADC region on strengthening the inclusion of the voices of key populations in the Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM). AI highlighted our current work to support countries to create Civil Society Priorities Charters as a way of ensuring that civil society takes a common position in CCM deliberations.
To view AAI’s presentation from the 5th Inter-Agency Meeting, click here.
AI also spoke on the panel “Universal Access to HIV and AIDS, TB and Malaria Services in Africa: challenges and prospects”, advocating for a broader, more inclusive, understanding of the term “universal access”, which also speaks to quality of service provision and protection of human rights.
Other organizations present include the African Union Commission, New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Inter Governmental Agency for Development (IGAD), Economic Community for central African States (ECCAS), World Health Organization (WHO), Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Roll Back Malaria (RBM), African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), Stop AIDS Now, Stop TB Partnership, West African Health Organization (WAHO), Afri-Dev, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM), Southern Africa HIV/AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS), World AIDS Campaign, Save the Children, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) and Réseau Africain des Personnes vivant avec le VIH/Afrique de l’Ouest (Rap+AO).
Accountability International advocated for the recommendations from the meeting to be progressive and forward looking. Two of the recommendations directly address the needs of key populations, particularly the consensus to “Step up efforts to address human rights issues and reform punitive laws that hinder access to services for key populations in order to achieve universal access to health services.” AAI also supports the commitment to women and girls in the meeting outcomes.
To view the official press release from the meeting, along with the full list of recommendations, click here.
14 June 2013
From 10-13 June 2013, Accountability International conducted a Needs Assessment in Mbabane and Manzini, Swaziland, as part of AI’s project to strengthen Africa’s Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs). Over the four days, AAI met with the CCM Secretariat, Pact, UNAIDS, Coordinating Assembly of Non-Governmental Organisations (CANGO), The National Emergency Response Council on HIV and AIDS (NERCHA), The Ministry of Health, the Family Life Association of Swaziland (FLAS), PEPFAR, USAID, The Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in Africa (AMICAAL), The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, The Swaziland Rural Women’s Assembly (SRWA) and independent consultants with experience in civil society capacity building in Swaziland. The meetings were highly productive and will guide AI’s Country Coordinating Mechanism project as it moves forward.
The first conclusion that the Needs Assessment research revealed is the sensitive context of the recent Global Fund Office of the Inspector General (OIG) investigation into the management of funds. Several million dollars were found to be mismanaged and are now due to be repaid to the Global Fund. This has created a situation where the sole principal recipient (NERCHA) is under extreme pressure from its remaining sub-recipients. According to the CCM Secretariat, only 7 sub-recipients remain from the grant’s initial 30. This is because the flow of funds was frozen during the investigation, forcing many small sub-recipients to close their doors. This context has intensified clashes between government (NERCHA sits under the Prime Minister’s office) and civil society, as responsibility for the money and accountability for the mismanagement remains unclear.
The second major conclusion reached was that civil society in Swaziland – and especially on the CCM – is in need of significant capacity building in terms of what its role is in the HIV/TB/Malaria response. Civil society would benefit from a stronger understanding of where it has comparative and competitive advantage in service delivery and programming compared to government, and how this partnership can work to the mutual benefit of both parties. Civil society in Swaziland is feeling sidelined recently, since there is an overall sense that biomedical interventions (treatment, male circumcision, CD4 counts) are favoured by the country and by the Global Fund over programmes that are more geared towards the social and behavioural elements (behavior change communication, peer education). These social interventions are often where the skill-sets of local civil society lie. Civil society needs to really understand how it can articulate the importance of these social services and how they can add value, especially in relation to UNAIDs new Investment Framework for the global HIV response.
The results of this Needs Assessment research will now inform the workshops which AI will conduct with Southern African CCMs in 2014. It is clear that building the capacity of civil society to more meaningfully engage in Global Fund processes will be the best way forward, since it is the best way to improve the ability of marginalized populations to have their voices heard on the CCM. With the New Funding Mechanism coming into effect soon, the importance of a unified and organized civil society constituency is all the more important on Swaziland’s CCM.
After the March 2013 launch of AI’s Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs) Community Consultation Report entitled “Who is really affecting the Global Fund decision making process?” AAI has begun conducting advocacy around the findings. The objective is to use the research as an accountability tool, acting as a best-practice and gaps analysis evidence base for improving the meaningful participation processes of women, girls and those marginalized by their sexual orientation in Global Fund processes.
Download the full report: Who is really affecting the Global Fund decision making processes? A Community Consultation Report
Download the survey report: Who is really affecting the Global Fund decision making processes? A Quantitative Analysis of CCMs
Download the media release: AIDS Accountability International on the Global Fund
To achieve this, AAI conducted its Global Fund Advocacy Week at the Global Fund Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, from 15-19 April 2013, since engaging Fund Portfolio Managers and Senior Technical Advisors on gender and key populations is critical for holding both the CCMs and the Global Fund Secretariat accountable for their obligations to marginalized populations. AAI also endeavoured to connect with other partners in Geneva, such as the World Young Women’s Christian Association (World YWCA), the International Labour Organization (ILO) along with funding partners and independent stakeholders.
On Monday 15 April 2013, AAI began its Global Fund Advocacy Week in Geneva by meeting with Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda (General Secretary) and Hendrica Okondo (Global Programme Manager SRHR & HIV Focal Point for Africa) at the World Young Women’s Christian Association (World YWCA). The discussion focused on reducing the distance for dialogue between young girls and policy makers, creating spaces of “conversational accountability” and “intergenerational dialogues” so that young girls can have the opportunity to engage with decision makers, but in less technical forums. Leadership was also a topic of strategic thinking, with AI and the YWCA brainstorming around how to redefine leadership so that it does not rest on the pillars of education or income.
The following day, AI met with a team of senior technical specialists at the Global Fund Secretariat. Speaking with Linda Mafu (Head, Political and Civil Society Department), Sara Davis (Senior Specialist in Human Rights and Equity), Motoko Seko (Gender and Human Rights Specialist) and Mauro Guarinieri (Senior Advisor, Community Systems Strengthening and Civil Society), AI pushed for greater accountability towards Human Rights in Global Fund processes. It was agreed during the meeting that viewing human rights through a public health lens can often be highly effective in certain contexts where the rights and women, girls and LGBT people can be politically and culturally sensitive. This supports the research findings in AI’s CCM Report. AI and the Global Fund also discussed the new CCM guidelines (2010) which say that CCMs should demonstrate effort to include key affected populations in the country dialogue process. In terms of the way forward, it was raised that Fund Portfolio Managers might benefit from capacity building on how to engage better with civil society outside of the CCM, as well as on human rights and key populations issues.
Continuing with Global Fund Advocacy Week, AAI met with two Fund Portfolio Managers (FPMs), Richard Cunliffe (Botswana, Swaziland) and Viviane Hughes-Lanier (Niger). At these two meetings, AI consulted with the FPMs about how best to strengthen Africa’s CCMs through improved participation of marginalized groups. The result was a recommendation from the Secretariat to build the capacity of civil society to become principal or sub-recipients, train key populations CCM members on how to influence a meeting, and train the CCM Chairs and Co-Chairs on how to run a meeting that includes discussions of strategic thinking around human rights considerations.
At the end of the week, solid plans had been made to move forward with the project in a manner that continues to involve the Secretariat in Geneva. This way, AI can increase its impact in pushing for greater accountability to women, girls and SOGI groups from both the CCMs in country, and the FPMs and Technical Specialists at the Global Fund in Geneva.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has recently published the 2012 CCM Composition data on its website. While Accountability International commends this transparency, the nature of the large Excel file-format does not make the data accessible or easy to interpret. This is a barrier to accountability. Responding to this need as urgently as possible, AI has created a CCM Fast Facts e-Poster which highlights some of the more important statistics on CCM composition in Africa. For instance, did you know that only one country in Africa has sex worker representation? Which country only has 5% women sitting on its CCM? Do you know which three African countries have members representing men who have sex with men?
CLICK HERE to download the CCM Fast Facts e-Poster.
The Global Fund’s Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs) are the in-country boards in charge of deciding what goes into Global Fund proposals, and how the grants are divided up and managed. Who is sitting on these boards? Who is really affecting the Global Fund decision making process?
19 March 2013: MEDIA RELEASE
GLOBAL FUND PROCESSES NEGLECT LGBT AND YOUTH
Johannesburg – Researchers today revealed that the Global Fund processes in place in South Africa and neighbouring countries discriminate against gay and lesbian people as well as youth.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is an international financing institution dedicated to attracting and disbursing resources to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria and is one of the world’s largest funders of HIV/TB and malaria, totalling 864 grants, worth US$21.9 billion.1 The distribution of this money, approximately half (over US$10 billion) has been granted to African governments, is decided by committees at national level called Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs), and it is these committees that researchers at Accountability International think are neglecting the needs of youths and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
Download Media Release Accountability International on the Global Fund
Download the full report: Who is really affecting the Global Fund decision making processes? A Community Consultation Report, Gemma Oberth
Download the survey report: Who is really affecting the Global Fund decision making processes? A Quantitative Analysis of Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs), Phillipa Tucker
How accountable is the Global Fund and its Country Coordinating Mechanisms to women, girls and lgbt?
12 April 2012
Read the Literature Review by Adrian Di Lollo for AIDS Accountability International.
A review of the literature analyzing the Global Fund’s performance in improving participation of women, girls and SOGI population groups into Country Coordinating Mechanisms with a focus on the Gender Equality and Sexual Orientations and Gender Identity Strategies.
Read the full report here
This project was made possible by the generous support of Ford Foundation.