CCMs

ABSTRACT The Global Fund went into the regional consultations on CCMs talking about a differentiated approach based on country size and operational context. They came out of the consultations describing the emergence of three CCM maturity levels – Basic Governance, Program Oversight and Strategic Engagement. The goal is still to have a CCM Evolution Plan ready for the Board’s 39th meeting in May 2018.

ABSTRACT The Technical Evaluation Reference Group conducted Prospective Country Evaluations in eight countries for the allocation period 2017- 2019, followed by one additional year and a three-month extension. In October, a position paper was presented to inform the Strategy Committee of the results for the three-month extension period and the TERG’s recommendations, and to request submission of the document to the Board for information.

ABSTRACT The Global Fund has published new funding request guidelines to help implementers prepare their funding applications for the next allocation period (2020-2022), earlier in the grant cycle than previously, to allow implementing countries sufficient time for internal dialogue and preparation. The available funding for this period will be determined at the November Board meeting, after the Sixth Replenishment Conference on 10 October in Lyon, France.

ABSTRACT Introductions and links to items of possible interest to those connected to the Global Fund, its partners and communities. In this edition: new WHO guidelines for policy on Community Health Workers, the Global Fund publishes a code of ethical conduct for CCM members, and how the Global Fund is starting to reap the benefits of reducing packaging for health commodities.

ABSTRACT After 18 months of discussions and consultations, the Board is set to decide which recommendations from the CCM Evolution Project it will adopt, how much additional funding (if any) it will approve, and where the funds will come from. We provide a preview of the discussions which will take place at the Board meeting on 9-10 May in Skopje, Macedonia.

ABSTRACT “Exchange for Change” is the title of two workshops designed to explore common bottlenecks in implementing Global Fund–financed health programs and to design novel solutions to address them. The workshops, in Malawi and Burkina Faso, were organized by the global GIZ program BACKUP Health. Communications, transparency and accountability were recurring themes of the workshops.

ABSTRACT On 12-15 September, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, representatives from 21 country coordinating mechanisms, mostly from West and Central Africa, discussed the challenges they face in ensuring that their CCMs function effectively. This was one of five regional CCM consultations held in August and September. Most of the participants said they were not comfortable with the concept of differentiated models for CCMs proposed by the Global Fund Secretariat.

ABSTRACT The Global Fund’s policies on the composition of CCMs have had a big impact in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The policies have resulted in increased participation of LGBT organizations on CCMs, and greater participation of LGBT representatives in the decisions of the CCMs and even of the governments in these countries, including decisions concerning prevention services, according to a new publication from the Eurasian Coalition on Male Health. ECOM also credits these policies with improving the quality of national HIV programs and with helping to combat homophobia.

ABSTRACT Country coordinating mechanisms need to be consulted, supported, strengthened and empowered, according to three donor constituencies on the Global Fund Board. The constituencies have released a position paper calling for a review of the role of CCMs.

ABSTRACT The Board discussed its business model at its meeting in November in Montreux, Switzerland. No formal decisions were taken. However, judging by the paper presented to the Board, no major changes to the business model are envisaged. Rather, improvements will be made to the current model. In this article, we discuss the contents of the Board paper and we include feedback that Aidspan received from four constituencies.