Communities At The Center Of Response-Communities Engagement In Decision Making
Project Description
HIV response in Pakistan needs scaled up community led interventions, and prioritized interventions that seek to scale up community engagement and leadership in national programs, while expanding the roles of communities in decision making and service provision. It is also the need of hours to prioritize elimination of all barriers to accessing health services and enhancing attainment of human rights. These are critical priorities that should be addressed if we are to achieve the target to end the epidemics, fight the pandemics, and build stronger and resilient systems for health, including community systems.
HIV epidemic is mainly concentrated in Kep populations which include populations and groups like Drug Users, Man who have sex with men, Transgenders, Female Sex workers and other at high-risk groups. To ensure access to services by all these marginalized groups, engagement of all these groups at all stages including planning, decision making, program implementation and oversight is needed. The engagement of these communities in the processes, community-based service delivery and provision of services tailored to the needs of communities along with timely investment is the only effective answer to the ongoing situation. Since long APLHIV has been engaged in capacity building of these communities and Community Based Organizations to ensure their meaningful and effective engagement throughout the processes. APLHIV has been in the lead since 2016 to provide a platform to the communities and Civil Society for the consultative processes for finalizing Provincial AIDS Strategies, Pakistan AIDS Strategy, and Global Fund related processes for submission of Funding Requests to the Global Fund.
During 2023 for the processes of Grant Cycle-6 of the Global Fund APLHIV organized consultative process both at provincial levels and at national level engaging over 400 people from within HIV Community and key populations. This happened to be the ever-largest consultative process for Global Fund grants in Pakistan.
In addition to this for the first time in Pakistan, the APLHIV also organized a national level consultation for TB Communities & Civil Society on TB and HIV/TB Co-Infection. Over 100 TB Community people from across Pakistan participated in the national level consultative process. The consultative process was followed by active follow up and advocacy by the APLHIV to ensure that prioritized needs of TB and HIV Communities are reflected in the Funding Requests and allocated budgets.
Project Description
HIV response in Pakistan needs scaled up community led interventions, and prioritized interventions that seek to scale up community engagement and leadership in national programs, while expanding the roles of communities in decision making and service provision. It is also the need of hours to prioritize elimination of all barriers to accessing health services and enhancing attainment of human rights. These are critical priorities that should be addressed if we are to achieve the target to end the epidemics, fight the pandemics, and build stronger and resilient systems for health, including community systems.
HIV epidemic is mainly concentrated in Kep populations which include populations and groups like Drug Users, Man who have sex with men, Transgenders, Female Sex workers and other at high-risk groups. To ensure access to services by all these marginalized groups, engagement of all these groups at all stages including planning, decision making, program implementation and oversight is needed. The engagement of these communities in the processes, community-based service delivery and provision of services tailored to the needs of communities along with timely investment is the only effective answer to the ongoing situation. Since long APLHIV has been engaged in capacity building of these communities and Community Based Organizations to ensure their meaningful and effective engagement throughout the processes. APLHIV has been in the lead since 2016 to provide a platform to the communities and Civil Society for the consultative processes for finalizing Provincial AIDS Strategies, Pakistan AIDS Strategy, and Global Fund related processes for submission of Funding Requests to the Global Fund.
During 2023 for the processes of Grant Cycle-6 of the Global Fund APLHIV organized consultative process both at provincial levels and at national level engaging over 400 people from within HIV Community and key populations. This happened to be the ever-largest consultative process for Global Fund grants in Pakistan.
In addition to this for the first time in Pakistan, the APLHIV also organized a national level consultation for TB Communities & Civil Society on TB and HIV/TB Co-Infection. Over 100 TB Community people from across Pakistan participated in the national level consultative process. The consultative process was followed by active follow up and advocacy by the APLHIV to ensure that prioritized needs of TB and HIV Communities are reflected in the Funding Requests and allocated budgets.