Your Voices, Your Views: Global Fund Partnership Forum 2011

Suksma Ratri, Vladimir Encarnación Jáquez, Bobby Ramakant
The 4th Partnership Forum of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil (28-30 June 2011) where participants were interviewed on what does this Partnership Forum means to them in their local contexts in fighting the three diseases.

[Publications] Access,Accountability and Rights: Your Voices,Your Views on the Global Fund

[Download this publication in 4 languages here: English, Russian, Spanish and French]
As part of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) Partnership Forum consultations, nine Key Correspondents (KCs) from seven countries captured voices from the field in local contexts and produced articles and videos on specific themes. CNS and AIDS Portal led by Nadine Ferris France published select articles and released the publication in four languages at the Global Fund 2011 Partnership Forum in Sao Paulo, Brazil (28-30 June 2011). The publication in 4 languages is available online at: English, Russian, Spanish and French.

[Publications] 2011 Global Fund Partnership Forum e-Consultations: Adding Your Voice to the Global Fund's 2012-2016 Strategy

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) supported a consultative process through online thematic consultations, survey and in-country interviews among other mechanisms, in lead up to the Partnership Forum 2011. It was managed by Nadine Ferris France along with AIDS Portal and CNS. The analytical report of the online consultation and survey "2011 Global Fund Partnership Forum e-Consultations: Adding Your Voice to the Global Fund's 2012-2016 Strategy" [English, French, Spanish, Russian] was released in 4 languages at the Global Fund 2011 Partnership Forum in Sao Paulo, Brazil (28-30 June 2011).

Your Voices, Your Views: Access, Accountability, Rights

Three Key Correspondents on-site at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund)'s 2011 Partnership Forum in Sao Paulo have interviewed participants and produced the above video. Thanks to Vladimir, a Key Correspondent from Dominican Republic, for commendable video editing - CNS 


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2011 Global Fund Partnership Forum e-Consultations: Adding Your Voice to the Global Fund's 2012-2016 Strategy

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) supported a consultative process through online thematic consultations, survey and in-country interviews among other mechanisms, in lead up to the Partnership Forum 2011. The analytical report of the online consultation and survey "2011 Global Fund Partnership Forum e-Consultations: Adding Your Voice to the Global Fund's 2012-2016 Strategy" summarizes what respondents to the eForum and the e-Survey said, in two parts: (1) Part I: Summaries from the three separate topics discussed over the multi-language e-Forum. The summaries capture contributions from e-Forum discussants, grouped by the three topics discussed; and (2) Part II: Analysis of the 2011 Partnership Forum e-Survey responses. Survey data is collated and presented under the five sub-themes of the 2011 Partnership Forum, highlighting broader feedback on measures for improved clarity and effectiveness in all that we do.

Coordination is the key: CCM partnerships in India

Bobby Ramakant - CNS
The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) should strengthen national partnerships on specific issues and their coordination with Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs). This is not only to optimise programme performance, but also ensure that community voices are central to health responses. India boasts of a CCM and also national partnerships on specific issues like HIV or TB. However a coordinated response between these national partnerships is lacking. According to Dr Nevin Wilson, Director of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) – South East Asia Office in New Delhi, "The level playing field is missing. We have the civil society and we have the government's national TB programme (formally called the Revised National TB Control Programme - RNTCP), [but] they cannot be equal partners. What stops the Global Fund from giving money directly to civil society?" Read more 


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Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and health – more leverage required

Bobby Ramakant - CNS
Currently, a number of developing nations are negotiating many economic agreements with other countries or blocks of countries. Another alarming fact is that there is marked reluctance to divulge details about these negotiations, and harsh measures are taken against public health activists who demand their say.More than eighty per cent of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs purchased by the Global Fund are coming from such nations such as India where threat from such economic agreements looms large. According to Loon Gangte of the Delhi Network of People living with HIV (DNP+) and International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC – South Asia), "The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) should look into it that more than 80% of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs purchased by it are coming from India and today we are at a very serious juncture with Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union. Although there are communities fighting against the FTAs from around the world but there is no serious position from the Global Fund against FTAs." Read more 


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HIV, sex-workers and injecting drug users: developing a rights-based approach in Central Asia and Eastern Europe

Evgenia Maron and Bobby Ramakant - CNS
According to the joint United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Eastern Europe and Central Asia is the only region where HIV prevalence remains on the rise. The number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) has almost tripled since 2000, and reached an estimated total of 1.4 million in 2009. A rapid rise in HIV infections among injecting drug users (IDU) at the turn of the century caused the epidemic in this region to surge, and the epidemic is concentrated mainly among people who inject drugs, sex workers, their sexual partners and, to a lesser extent, men who have sex with men (MSM). About one quarter of the 3.7 million people who inject drugs in this region are living with HIV. Read more 


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Invest in the health of ALL populations at risk of HIV Infection in India

Shobha Shukla - CNS
According to a recent UNDP report India has 30.5 million men-who-sex-with-men (MSM), and over a million Hijras, or transgenders. The national HIV prevalence amongst MSM is estimated at 7.41%, with 24% MSM testing positive for HIV in the state of Goa, and 18.8% in Mumbai. While MSM are at a high risk of acquiring and transmitting HIV, only about 4% of those at risk are currently able to access appropriate HIV services in India. In this dismal scenario, the Global Fund For AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund), Round 9 has done well to fund community-strengthening projects to reduce vulnerability and minimise risk of the further spread of HIV amongst MSM, and transgender populations in South Asia. Now it has to be ensured that through proper execution of these projects, more lives are saved and more infections are prevented in the members of this community. Read more

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Meeting the MDG targets for TB eradication in Zimbabwe: Global Fund money is vital

Ignatius Gutsa
Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem in Zimbabwe. As of 2011, the country ranks 20th out of 22 on the list of high-burden TB countries. In 2008, Zimbabwe had an estimated 73,714 new TB cases, and an incidence of 557 per 100,000 people. To aid the national TB response in Zimbabwe, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) supports a number of programmes. For example, funding received from Round 8 is used for strengthening and expanding the activities of the National Tuberculosis Program. This builds on activities funded under Round 5, to ensure gaps are weaknesses in TB programmes are addressed. The national TB response in Zimbabwe targets patients, and people living with HIV (PLHIV), the population at risk. Read more

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Mixed perceptions of the Global Fund in Kenya

Henry Neondo
Funding for health should begin targeting prevention programmes that address issues that affect women and children, and the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria (The Global Fund) has a key role to play. In the context of HIV, Professor Alloys Orago, Director of the National AIDS Control Council (NACC), says "for every one person put on treatment, two more get newly infected - women and the youth still bearing the brunt of the three most burdened some diseases: HIV, tuberculosis and malaria." Read more

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Between resentment and dependency: The Global Fund in Indonesia

Suksma Ratri
It is nine years since the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) was first established. Since its inception, the Global Fund has become the main financier of programs to fight these diseases, with a total approved funding of US$ 21.7 billion for more than 600 programs in 150 countries throughout the world. Though the mechanism may seem flawless and ideal, it is important not to rely just on national reports to assess the Fund’s effectiveness. We also need the views of stakeholder constituents – the direct beneficiaries of the funding. Anecdotally, we hear that experiences on the ground do not match the glowing reports released by governments. An example is Indonesia, a large country consisting of over 17 thousand islands. In October 2010, reported cases of AIDS were 24,131, with 4,158 cumulative deaths. With its complex geographical structure, does the Global Fund program run smoothly and ideally in all 33 provinces of Indonesia? Does the program have great impact to the Key Affected Populations, such as injecting drug users (IDU)? Read more 


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Public health and social justice: the time to stop criminalising Thai injecting drug users is now

Jittima Jantanamalaka - CNS
Thailand has been a leader in HIV prevention and treatment for 20 years. Success has come to Thailand in many HIV contexts, but not for HIV transmission driven by injecting drug use. The combination of the criminalisation of injection drug use and a lack of a coherent legal and policy framework on drugs, means that not only injecting drug users (IDUs) are at risk when they access services, but service providers are also at risk of being penalised for offering them. In Thailand, service providers have been arrested, jailed or blacklisted – confirming the gravity of the situation.Criminalisation of drugs can increase HIV infection rates, particularly among IDUs. The number of new hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections has also escalated since the 'war on drugs' was launched. On one hand, when in some countries rates of heterosexually transmitted HIV infections are falling, HIV transmission through the injecting drug route continues to rise. While harm reduction approaches have proven effective at reducing the spread and impact of the epidemic among IDUs, progress in addressing IDU's needs and priorities moves at a snail's pace. Read more


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Simplify and build local competencies to manage Global Fund grants: a view from India

Bobby Ramakant - CNS
The Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (the Global Fund) has contributed significantly over the last decade in accelerating India‟s response to TB, HIV and malaria, saving lives and preventing infections. However a lot more needs to be done as it is clearly not enough. If the Global Fund and India do business as usual, currently unreached populations are unlikely to benefit."Over the last ten years the Global Fund has focussed on strengthening the national programmes in India", according to Dr Nevin Wilson, Director, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), South East Asia office, New Delhi. Read more

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The Global Fund: enhancing possibilities for people living with HIV in Zimbabwe

Ignatius Gutsa
Zimbabwe currently faces a huge HIV and AIDS crisis. Over the course of the past decade, the country has experienced a severe economic downturn, resulting in acute shortage of drugs and equipment to fight HIV. To aid Zimbabwe's response, the country received a major boost at the beginning of 2010, with a five-year US$84 million grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund). This grant has gone a long way towards increasing access to HIV services and treatment. Read more 


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The Global Fund in the Dominican Republic: accomplishments & challenges

Vladimir Encarnación Jáquez
In the Dominican Republic, initiatives financed by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) fall under the framework of the National Response to HIV, TB and malaria. After years of direct interventions focused on the prevention, control and treatment of these diseases, stakeholders consider the contribution of the Global Fund as a significant benefit to thousands of Dominicans. For Nicomedes Castro, Secretary of the Dominican Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM): "The resources provided by the Global Fund have allowed for the acquisition and supply of medications, saving thousands of lives, and have also contributed with the implementation of successful practices regarding HIV, TB and malaria." In addition the "Support of the Global Fund contributed to the drafting of the National Strategic Plan and the strengthening of civil society," says Castro. Read more 


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The Global Fund needs a strategy to address HIV and Hepatitis C among IDUs

Evgenia Maron
Currently, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) has strategies for supporting people of different sexual orientations and gender identities, and promoting gender equality. However, there is no such strategy for improving HIV and hepatitis C responses among injecting drug users (IDUs). According to Ivan Varentsov, coordinator of Civil Society Action Team (CSAT), Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN), "We know that in many regions, not only gender inequality fuels the HIV epidemic, but also injection drug use. IDUs face no less stigma and discrimination, [and] suffer because of lack of access to prevention and treatment services." Read more 


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The Global Fund should support operational research to reach the unreached

Bobby Ramakant - CNS
Since its inception in 2001, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (The Global Fund) has saved approximately 5.7 million lives. Each day an additional 4000 deaths are averted, but in order to continue its existing programmes and rapidly scale up towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, The Global Fund needs to invest resources in operational or applied research to confirm where it gets most value for its dollar, measured in terms of protecting human rights, saving lives and preventing infections. For Dr Nevin Wilson, Director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) - South East Asia office, "After the directly observed treatment shortcourse (DOTS) model was developed by The Union what new evidence has really been researched and put into practice. How is the Global Fund grant helping in implementing Principal Recipient (PR) to carry out the necessary operational research during the lifetime of their grant to provide the evidence that the intervention they have carried out works? This is especially true when we work with the community." Read more 


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What should the Global Fund be doing more of?

Bharathi Ghanashyam
As a part of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) consultation project, the Biennial Partnership Forum 2011, an inclusive online debate was initiated to find answers to some key questions. The answers are expected to contribute towards constructing a more robust roadmap for the future of the Global Fund. The responses have been wide-ranging – in both suggestions and observations. They reflect the voices, expectations and hopes of affected communities, programme administrators and other stakeholders. They also indicate that the Global Fund has become a symbol of hope – stakeholders would like to see its scope go beyond just funding country programmes. Regardless of whether or not this is feasible, or fits with the Fund’s scope, the exercise has succeeded in revealing some very real gaps that need to be addressed. Read more

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Walk the path of human rights

Shobha Shukla - CNS
A report from the UN Special Rapporteur calls upon nation states to decriminalise consensual same-sex conduct, repeal discriminatory laws relating to sexual orientation and gender identity, repeal laws criminalising sex work, and provide human rights education for health professionals. Criminalisation is not only a breach of a State's duty to prevent discrimination, it also creates an atmosphere where affected people are disempowered, unable to achieve full realisation of their human rights. According to a recent UNDP report, India has 30.5 million men who have sex with men (MSM), and over a million Hijra and transgender people. The national HIV prevalence in MSM is estimated at 7.41%, with 24% testing positive in the state of Goa and 18.8% in Mumbai. While MSM in India are at high risk of acquiring and transmitting HIV, only about 4% are able to access appropriate services. The situation is more serious for transgender populations. Here, HIV prevalence can be as high as 42% in Mumbai, and 49% in Delhi. This has been attributed to low levels of awareness, unsafe sexual practices, inadequate services and social marginalisation. Read more