The Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) is one the largest international financial mechanisms providing substantial funding worldwide to eradicate the three of the most burdensome diseases on the planet. Millions of dollars are allocated every year for NGOs, governments and other agencies to tackle them through interventions based upon strengthening the national policies and programmes. Grants announced through a systematic process and all proposals are evaluated based on their technical quality and approved for funding. Although ample resources are made available by GFATM, yet many NGOs and civil society organizations fail to qualify for funding support due to the poor quality of their proposals.
In this context, Population Action International has launched a useful document called “A Practical Guide to Integrating Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS into Grant Proposals to the Global Fund.” As the title suggests, the document provides information for grant proposal writers on how to integrate reproductive health and HIV and AIDS while they apply for the Global Fund. According to the document, “…in recent proposal rounds, The Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) has stated more explicitly that countries can include reproductive health as part of their proposals on AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, as long as a justification is provided on the impact of reproductive health (RH) on reducing one of the three diseases.” A range of information can be accessed by the people through the integration process of RH and HIV and AIDS and can impact positively on the set outcomes of HIV and AIDS programme. The Guide not only explains what “Integration” is but it also gives information about the ways as to how RH can be integrated into proposals targeting reduction and prevention of HIV and AIDS. The book also refers to some interesting case studies, mostly from Africa, which clearly demonstrate how relevant is the link between RH and HIV and AIDS prevention. It also gives a comprehensive picture of how country policies and programmes can be linked up with the proposed projects as GFATM emphasizes on improving them in close partnership with the local governments. The document also lists out what types of data need to be collected and integrated into the proposal with some illustrative country examples. In conclusion, this book “…with links to a range of resources, will help CCMs, civil society organizations and others developing proposals for the Global Fund that contribute to preventing HIV and mitigating the effects of the AIDS pandemic through programs that link and integrate RH and HIV/AIDS.”
The document can be downloaded as a pdf from this link.
