Mobilising for RH HIV Integration
Interact Worldwide is a member of the Mobilizing for RH/HIV Integration Initiative which supports Civil Society Organizations in the development and submission of proposals to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria that include reproductive health as a critical component of HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.
We are building upon work conducted during Global Fund Round 7 wherein Interact advocated for policy changes in Global Fund guidelines and assessment tools and also supported proposal development in Malawi. Malawi's approved Round 7 HIV proposal included a focus on provision of youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health information, education and services including; SRH counseling, STI treatment and the promotion and provision of condoms for dual protection.
Interact was invited to join an expanded coalition of organizations to launch the Mobilizing for RH-HIV Integration Initiative for Round 8 (1 March - 1 July 2008). The initiative partners also include: Friends of the Global Fund Africa, the Global AIDS Alliance, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and IPPF Africa Regional Office (IPPF-ARO), and Population Action International (PAI).
During the Round 8 proposal process, the Initiative supported civil society organizations in 10 sub-Saharan African countries to participate in the development of proposals that integrated RH and HIV/AIDS. We also engaged in supporting advocacy to expand the range of civil society organizations, especially reproductive health service providers, to meaningfully engage in Global Fund processes with the ultimate goal of involvement of programme implementation.
Interact Worldwide served as the country liaison to civil society organizations in Mozambique and Tanzania. Other countries were Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Ghana, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria and Zambia.
In order to achieve these broad objectives, three goals were successfully pursued:
• Support in-country organizations in preparing proposals to the Global Fund's HIV/AIDS component that integrated RH and HIV/AIDS services, including RH supplies, and help to build capacity of RH organizations to access the Global Fund and its mechanisms.
• Persuade Global Fund stakeholders at the national and global levels to prioritize RH/HIV integration as a critical component of scaling up access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care, and a cost-effective use of limited resources.
• Conduct global advocacy and support organizations to conduct in-country advocacy for accelerating country demand and Global Fund support for integrated RH/HIV programs and services, including the provision of RH supplies.
Key Successes in Round 8
The Initiative's efforts were highly successful, contributing to important progress. Key highlights include:
• Nine of ten focus countries submitted Round 8 proposals that feature RH/HIV integration to the Global Fund.
• Partners in Burkina Faso, Burundi, Ghana, Madagascar, Namibia, and Nigeria were named as either principal or sub recipients.
• Partners in Cameroon were elected as full members of their country's CCM.
• The Global Fund Secretariat took concerted steps toward establishing a robust and comprehensive gender strategy, including RH considerations, which will impact all levels of Global Fund processes.
The Initiative also pursued a robust Advocacy Strategy focused on engaging the Global Fund Secretariat and civil society delegations to the Global Fund Board in optimizing the creation and implementation of the Global Fund's forthcoming gender strategy. In addition, global advocates worked with national and regional advocates to address policy bottlenecks at the country level and help further an enabling environment for RH/HIV integration at the country level.
Side Event at the Commission on Population and Development, Friday 3 April
Interact Worldwide organized a side event at the UN Church Center, during the 42nd Session of the UN Commission to discuss the contribution that linkages between SRHR and HIV can make to achieve the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action. About 20 professionals from international SRHR organisations attended to learn about the successful efforts of the Mobilizing for RH-HIV Integration initiative in scaling up SRH programs integrated and linked to HIV services through funding from the Global Fund.
The session was Chaired by Dr Mandeep Dhaliwal, Cluster Leader: Gender, Human Rights & Sexual Diversities, HIV/AIDS Practice, UNDP who recognised that this session of the CPD witnessed increased dialogue and interest among member states regarding the promotion of integration and linkage of sexual and reproductive health services and responses to HIV and AIDS. Given UNDP's role in supporting the implementation of the Global Fund's Gender Equality and Sexual Minorities strategies she was able to comment on the range of policy advancements that Interact and other partners have advocated for including:
- Adoption of a strategy for ensuring Gender Equality which guides Global Fund efforts to encourage a positive bias in funding programs and activities that address gender inequalities and strengthen the response for women and girls.
- A separate but complementary strategy on sexual minorities is currently being finalised for approval at the May 2009 Board meeting.
- An explicit recognition of the importance of linkages between sexual and reproductive health and rights and the three diseases. The Gender Equality Strategy and materials supporting proposal development highlight the importance of increased linkages and state that funding can be requested to provide access to HIV prevention through integrated health services, especially for women and adolescents through reproductive health care.
Interact's Head of Policy and Advocacy Felicity Daly made a presentation on Resourcing Linkages between SRHR and HIV which argued that in order to meet revised estimates of the minimum resources to meet the ICPD goals from 2009 onward (starting at US$50 billion in 2009 scaling up to US$70 billion in 2015) health advocates, including from SRHR organsations, should support resource mobilization efforts for the Global Fund.
The Global Fund currently faces a funding gap estimated to start at 5 billion - recognizing that the Fund has been instrumental in progress on MDG 6, as well as playing an integral part in helping countries to make progress on MDG3 (ensure gender equality), MDG 4 (reduce childhood mortality) and MDG 5 (reduce maternal mortality/achieve universal access to reproductive health) advocates should urge countries to fulfill their fair share to the Global Fund in order to advance their commitment to achieving the MDGs and eradicating poverty.
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Interact Worldwide also played a active role during the International AIDS Conference, Mexico City in August 2008 hosting a side event on lessons learned in integration.
Resources
Mobilising for RH/HIV Integration Project Proposal Summary
Shadow Report into Round 8 proposals
Shadow Report into Round 7 Proposals
