KENYA DRAFTS CIVIL SOCIETY CHARTER TO ENCOURAGE BETTER PARTICIPATION IN CONCEPT NOTE DEVELOPMENT

Author:

Angela Kageni

Article Type:

Article Number: 3

In drafting a 16-point charter, Kenyan civil society signals its intention to play a larger role in the allocation of Global Fund resources to the fight against the three diseases

ABSTRACT Representatives of Kenyan civil society concluded a three-day workshop on 22 August with the endorsement of a draft 16-point charter to guide future participation by community-based organizations in Global Fund processes, beginning with country dialogue and concept note development under the new funding model (NFM).

Representatives of Kenyan civil society concluded a three-day workshop on 22 August with the endorsement of a draft 16-point charter to guide future participation by community-based organizations in Global Fund processes, beginning with country dialogue and concept note development under the new funding model (NFM).

More than 40 participants from 30 different grassroots organizations attended the training facilitated by Aidspan and collaborating partners including the International HIV/AIDS Alliance and AIDS Accountability International.

The training was based on seven case studies that explored the Global Fund’s relationship with Kenya, and required participants to evaluate national data on health indicators, impact and other statistics related to: domestic health financing, procurement, national response to the three diseases, community systems strengthening, harm reduction, and programs targeting key populations.

In identifying their priorities to be included in the draft charter, the civil society representatives emphasized expanded access and use of health and health financing data related to Global Fund program implementation as the best way to hold government accountable to its commitments to the fight against HIV, TB and malaria.

Kenya is one of several countries to develop a Civil Society Charter to strengthen the ability of civil society to engage at the highest levels of decision-making related to the allocation of resources and implementation of Global Fund-supported programming.

The charter development process, first launched in southern African countries including Malawi, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, provides tools and a framework for action and improved participation based on a consensus of priorities across the civil society sector.

In drafting their charter, Kenyan participants identified and ranked the following priorities:

#1 Priority – Health Financing: Top Priority: Sustainable financing for universal health coverage Secondary Priority: Institutional strengthening on management and governance of health financing

#2 Priority – Community Systems Strengthening: Top Priority: Core funding for Community Systems Strengthening (CSS) in capacity building and organizational development Secondary Priority: Mechanisms for coordinating networks and partnerships

#3 Priority – HIV/AIDS: Top Priority: Treatment, care and support Secondary Priority: Combination prevention

#4 Priority – Tuberculosis: Top Priority: Social protection Secondary Priority: Improving civil society organizations’ capacity

#5 Priority – Key Populations: Top Priority: Access to key population-friendly prevention care and treatment services Secondary Priority: Enabling legal and social environment

#6 Priority – Malaria: Top Priority: Behavior change on use of interventions Secondary Priority: Community case management

#7 Priority – Harm Reduction: Top Priority: Access to Needle and Syringe Programmes (NSP) and Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) Secondary Priority: Advocating for more domestic finances

#8 Priority – Procurement: Top Priority: Understand civil society role in procurement efficiency Secondary Priority: Transparency around accessible information on commodities in the PSM Pipeline  –

Once the draft charter has been reviewed and critiqued by all stakeholders, it will be validated and disseminated widely, hopefully timed to coincide with the finalization of Kenya’s draft concept notes.

Kenya is set to submit two concept notes by early 2015: a joint proposal for TB and HIV and a separate proposal for malaria. Both will contain some resources for health system strengthening. Kenya’s total allocation under the NFM, announced in March 2014, was $495.4 million for the period 2014-2017.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following paragraph has been added following a request from AIDS Accountability International:

The Kenya Civil Society Priorities Charter is part of a wider series of Civil Society Priorities Charters produced by AIDS Accountability International, in partnership with the Ford Foundation, and in collaboration with a wide range of local partners in East and Southern Africa. The objective of the Charters is to build civil society’s capacity to hold leaders accountable throughout the Global Fund New Funding Model. To view the Charters from the other countries, as well as to learn more about the project, click here.