As you know, the Africa Constituency Bureau (also named the Bureau) exists to facilitate collaboration across the two Constituencies and ensure that Africa’s voice is enhanced to influence Global Health policy decisions, ease effective engagement, representation and participation of the two Constituencies in Global Fund processes as well as enhance their capacity to shape Global Fund policies and processes. This position and role become critical now that the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is in the process of developing its new strategic plan that will run from 2022 when the current one expires. Therefore, the Global Fund is seeking the input of partners and implementers to help identify emerging challenges and opportunities that could be critical for the next strategy.
To respond to this call, the Bureau, as an organ that provides African countries with technical support, convened virtual meetings with CCMs, the Global Fund board and constituency members representing Sub-Saharan African Governments to discuss key achievements for the current strategic objectives, and important areas of the next one.
DFID’s support became crucial in this period where in person meetings are not recommended to avoid the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The project seeks to support countries and stakeholders to mitigate some of the Covid-19 related adverse effects on the development processes of Global Fund funding requests, grant implementation and grant making. Thereon, the project has facilitated the purchase of 151 Bluejeans licenses that will ease communication, exchanges and consultation within CCMs and the ACB to enable them to provide their inputs for the next GF’s strategy .
Specifically, the project will permit to:
• Identify key trends and trajectories in the HIV, TB and Malaria responses, particularly in relation to the 2030 goals and targets;
• Draw lessons learned under the current Global Fund strategy and in the broader global fight against the three epidemics;
• Analyze underperformance during the current Global Fund strategy and appropriate levers for course correction;
• Understand the root causes or drivers and the pathways for responding in the most effective and efficient manner;
• Generate ESA and WCA’s strategic priorities based on engagements with critical stakeholders.
• Advocate for and defend Africa’s strategic priorities among various stakeholders to create buy-in; and
• Support ESA and WCA’s Global Fund Board and Committee representatives to effectively engage in the Fund’s post 2022 strategy dialogue.
The first outcomes are already visible. The 500.000£ one year project has enabled to recruit 2 policy analysts at ACB and to purchase Bluejeans licenses for 23 African countries to facilitate communication between CCM members amid Covid-a 19.
So far, in 3 weeks, 15 virtual meetings covering 15 topics have been organized with the attendance of more than 300 attendees (CCM Members, partners, GF Constituencies)
