LAC

ABSTRACT A recent report by the Latin American Representation details the opinions and experiences of stakeholders involved in responses to the three diseases in the region. The report identifies COVID-19, weak political commitments, and low domestic investments as significant barriers to ending the three diseases. It also provides recommendations to the Global Fund on how to support the region better.

ABSTRACT A recent report commissioned jointly by the Latin American and Caribbean delegation to the Global Fund Board and a seperate LAC initiative, the Horizontal Technical Cooperation Group, details the experiences and opinions of stakeholders engaged in the response to the three diseases in the region, focusing on Global Fund-supported processes and mechanisms. The report highlights transition and sustainability as critical issues, and is intended to advance the dialogue on how to harmonize and optimize the many regional coordination structures that are currently operating.

ABSTRACT Eight months after the Global Fund Board approved an unprecedented $5-million donation for ARV procurement and community monitoring in Venezuela, a new update report from ICASO and ACCSI documents a deteriorating social, political and economic situation in the country. Challenges with the rollout of the Global Fund donation are linked to obstacles in the supply chain and distribution, some politically motivated. The organizations call on the Global Fund to scale up investments that respond to human rights-related barriers to access and to assess the impact of Venezuela’s crisis on neighbouring countries, particularly for malaria.

ABSTRACT The 41st Board Meeting of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria held in May 2019 was an opportunity for the organization to pledge its commitment and support to the LAC region, where $2.2 billion has already been invested to date to fight the three diseases. Investments include technical assistance to build resilient health system infrastructures in 36 countries in the continent, while maintaining an emphasis on co-financing commitments to cover key transition risks that include uptake of services for key populations. A member of the Latin America and Caribbean delegation to the Board offers his perspective.

ABSTRACT The Global Fund finances HIV grants in 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. All but one of the grants focus on key populations. A report by the Pan American Health Organization and UNAIDS says that the region is too dependent on external financing. It also says that there is a need for detailed plans to transition away from this dependency.

ABSTRACT A social contracting diagnostic tool developed in Latin America and the Caribbean is being used during transition planning to assess whether civil society organizations are able to use government resources to continue providing prevention, treatment and care services to key and vulnerable populations.

ABSTRACT A new report from ICASO and Acción Ciudadana Contra el SIDA describes an unprecedented, state-made, complex humanitarian emergency in Venezuela and calls on the Global Fund to lead a regional response. The report states that the delegations to the Global Fund Board from civil society and Latin American and the Caribbean have continued to press the Fund to find a way to channel resources to Venezuela, but have been met with roadblocks at every turn. This article includes a comment from Aidspan.

ABSTRACT Activists have been sounding the alarm for years about what they perceive as systematic neglect of Latin America and the Caribbean by the Global Fund, Kataisee Richardson says in this commentary. Several countries have been successful in bringing down infection and mortality rates for the three diseases, she writes, but these successes obscure the disparities, gaping inequality and heterogeneity of the region.

ABSTRACT Work carried out by Dr. Abdhalah Ziraba of the African Population and Health Research Center, reveals country actions through Implementation Through Partnership-ITP, or the implementation of country roadmaps, are proving to be successful in addressing absorption bottlenecks and such efforts should be sustained and institutionalized in countries facing significant absorption challenges.

ABSTRACT This article provides information about the joint statement for the 26th Global Fund Board prepared by the EECA and EMR constituencies.