PartnersGF - 2005-01-12
Dear Members,
Happy New Year and a warm welcome back to PartnersGF. The Moderation Team would like to thank all contributors for their consistent participation and support as we strive to provide you with a forum where you can obtain relevant news on Global Fund-related developments, exchange views and ideas, and most importantly, advocate for the purpose of advancing the role of civil society in the decision-making process of the Global Fund.
PartnersGF is becoming a vital tool for enhancing the Funds goals of meaningful participation and transparency. Accordingly, our focus for the first part of 2005 will be on one of the most significant decisions to come out of the ninth Global Fund board meeting that took place in Arusha, Tanzania in November 2004: the resolution that all CCMs are required to show evidence of membership of people living with and/affected by the [three] diseases. You can access the original posting outlining the Boards decision at: http://eforums.healthdev.org/read/messages?id=3189.
Along with the decision to launch the fifth cycle of grants (Round 5), the boards agreement to have the participation of affected communities as an explicit requirement is cause for optimism that the Fund will indeed be able to do things differently at the country level, and a testament to the hard work of civil society actors who lobbied for this crucial outcome.
In the next few months, we will invite and feature stories from communities and people affected by HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria who are successfully campaigning for more meaningful participation in CCM decision-making. We will also support information sharing about the implementation of the Board decision at country levels, and link in with civil society organizations to help ensure that that the Boards decision does not remain a paper exercise but brings about genuine change to how CCMs currently operate.
The Global Fund stands to benefit from this exercise as much as CCMs and civil society constituents, and it is especially timely in light of the timetable for Round 5 submissions (the call for proposals is scheduled for 17 March 2005),and the renewal of grants from previous rounds. An important consideration is the mechanism by which CCMs will be held accountable to this decision, and the means that will be used by the Global Fund to ensure the compliance of CCMs to the Boards decision.
Whether you are a member of your countrys CCM, a civil society associate or a concerned member of the public, we invite you to share with us your experiences in advocating for meaningful participation, as well as your ideas and views on what can bring about real change. We extend a special invite to men and women who are affected by the three diseases to share their experiences with us.
As always, thank you in advance for your participation, and we look forward to hearing from you. Speak your world!
PartnersGF eForum Resource Team
Email: partnersgf@eforums.healthdev.org