Gay and bisexual men, sex workers, people who use drugs and transgender people often face serious challenges accessing funds for the programs they want and need. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has funding earmarked for key populations (KP) programs, but the procedures are often too complex for key populations to take full advantage of them. Many countries are now working on developing new funding requests for 2021-2023. This is an important opportunity to ensure KP programs are properly funded and that resources reach those most in need.
In 2016 & 2019, the Community Leadership and Action Collaborative (CLAC), comprised of the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) the International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD) and MPact Global for Gay Men’s Health and Rights (MPact) – developed a facilitator’s guide and training modules to help make Global Fund policies and procedures relevant to key populations.
The toolkit and facilitator’s guide have now been updated in 2020 with the latest guidance and policies and is available to download for free online.
The toolkit and facilitator’s guide include the following topics:
- Global Fund processes and structures
- Key policies on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), gender equality
- Overview of funding opportunities and procedures related to the 2020-2022 funding cycle
- Guidance on how to apply for funding for human rights and gender-related barriers, scaling up programming for KPs, and strengthening community responses
- Overview of WHO implementation tools including the MSMIT, SWIT, IDUIT & TRANSIT
- Contacts, resources, and technical assistance opportunities
- Overview of Global Fund policies regarding sustainability, transition and co-financing (STC), and catalytic investments
The toolkit will be of particular interest to human rights and key populations organizations and networks interested in hosting trainings to support their constituencies to access funding. Individual activists and advocates interested in better understanding Global Fund mechanisms, as well as how WHO implementation tools can improve programming for KPs, will also find the toolkit informative.
COVID-19
The toolkit reports the flexibility the Global Fund has offered countries to use up to 5% of their grants to fund certain COVID-19 related interventions and it notes the revised funding application windows. The Global Fund updates their guidance on COVID-19 twice a week. For the most up to date information see https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/covid-19/
To access the CLAC Global Fund Toolkit and facilitator’s guide, please complete the form available here: https://bit.ly/2YA14AO
The plan is to make this toolkit a living document, which will require regular updating. Feedback and comments should be sent to Nadia Rafif, MPact Director of Policy: nrafif@mpactglobal.org.