Read this article in:
20 March, 2008
Global Fund Calls for Round 8 Proposals
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has issued its Eighth Call for Proposals. The application form and support documentation are available in six languages at www.theglobalfund.org.
Proposals have to reach the Global Fund by 1 July 2008.
All proposals submitted by the closing date of 1 July 2008 will be reviewed by the Secretariat to ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria. Eligible proposals will then be forwarded to the Technical Review Panel (TRP) for consideration. The TRP will make recommendations on the basis of which the Global Fund Board will decide.
How does the Global Fund work?
The Global Fund, itself a public/private partnership, is a funding mechanism. Since it was registered in January 2002, and up to December 2007, the Global Fund has approved grants with a total commitment of US$14.5 billion, more than half of it targeted for HIV/AIDS projects.
The Global Fund is based in Geneva. It does not have any country representation. The proposal process and the implementation of grants are devolved to the national level. The Global Fund gives the policy framework and issues guidelines on various aspects of its operations. It raises money, spends it, and proves it – the Global Fund is performance based.
All proposals have to go through the Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM). The composition of the CCMs is supposed to be representative of all stakeholders in the fight against HIV/AIDS, including civil society, the private sector, and organisations of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).
How can unions get involved?
The role of the workplace in the fight against HIV/AIDS is recognised. The workplace is an important entry point for HIV/AIDS services and no workplace activities can be efficiently implemented without unions. The role of national unions and their international bodies, the Global Unions, is acknowledged by international organisations such as the ILO, the WHO, and UNAIDS.
The Global Fund is supportive of public/private partnerships, or co-investment arrangements. Without the involvement of the private sector universal access to voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), and to anti-retroviral treatment (ART), it is not possible to qualify, or projects will be further delayed. The private sector is business and trade unions, as the workers’ representatives. For the first time, the Guidelines for Round 8 proposals mention unions under eligible organisations of the private sector.
The manpower capacities of unions are limited. Unions must tend to other day-to-day business. Unions are not single-issue NGOs. They have to look for partners and build alliances with companies and NGOs.
Very few CCMs include unionists. While we continue to call for union representation on CCMs, in the short term, it is vital that unions work through members of the CCMs who are sympathetic to their cause. It is important that unions find cooperating partners who can develop their project ideas into proposals for the CCM.
The German Organisation for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) operates the BACKUP Initiative (Building Alliances – Creating Knowledge – Updating Partners), which provides support. GTZ is represented in more than 130 countries. A lot of USAID offices have HIV/AIDS Coordinators and certain embassies, notably of Nordic countries, The Netherlands, the UK, and the European Union may be able to give assistance. Global Unions and the WHO have agreed to use the potential of unions in up-scaling and accelerating access to VCT and ART. The ILO and its workplace programme, ILOAIDS, has focal points on HIV/AIDS in a number of offices.
The most significant new feature in Round 8 is that the Global Fund is recommending that applicants specify one (or more) Principal Recipients (PRs) from the government sector and one (or more) from the various non-government sectors, including the private sector which includes unions (dual-track financing).
What are your next steps?
• Put down your ideas about a workplace programme on one page and prepare a draft budget.
• Get to know the members of your country’s CCM and lobby those potentially sympathetic to union causes for the inclusion of workplace programmes in Round 8 proposals. Country-specific information is accessible at www.theglobalfund.org.
• Contact GTZ, USAID, the ILO, UNAIDS, and WHO offices in your country.
• Build alliances with companies; remind them of their social responsibility.
• Cooperate with NGOs and organisations of PLWHA.
• Access the website www.aidspan.org/guides on which a guide to Round 8 applications is available.
How can the ICEM help?
The ICEM Global Coordinator has good working relations with all the organisations mentioned. He can help you with contacts and links to materials. Send your ideas about a workplace programme and inquiries to [email protected]. The ICEM has Global Agreements with 13 multinational companies. These companies should be engaged in the fight against the pandemic.
Above all
-
Start today if you want to do something.
-
Remember that the private sector includes business and unions as the workers’ representatives.
-
Remember that you have allies who can be mobilized and who can give assistance.
-
Write to the ICEM Global HIV/AIDS Coordinator at [email protected] for further information and help.