The Liberia Coordinating Mechanism (LCM) of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has completed a two-day Country Dialogue for Region 5 counties to provide input to the development of a new joint national TB/HIV funding request for the country.
River Gee, Maryland and Grand Kru which are in southeastern Liberia were grouped as region 5 counties to prioritize areas of intervention for the development of a joint TB/HIV funding request for submission to the Global Fund.
According to a release, the dialogue organized in partnership with the Ministry of Health Programs (National AIDS/STIs Control Program – NACP and National Leprosy and TB Control Program – NLTCP) and the National AIDS Commission took place in Fish Town, River Gee County, from 16-17 January, 2020.
Mrs. Paulina Doe Hilton explained to the participants the importance of the country dialogue and the Global Fund New Funding Model (NFM III). In her words, the dialogue was intended to ensure that the Global Fund NFM III meets the needs of the affected communities through engagement, as well as it seeks to provide groups that are excluded from the LCM or that have weak representation and/or opportunity to participate meaningfully and provide input to the Global Fund New Funding Request (NFM-III).
According to her, the dialogue provides the opportunity to discuss and address barriers to accessing health services.
More than 75 representatives of local county authorities, Ministry of Health, County Health Officers; the private sector; faith-based organizations; traditional leaders; civil society groups; human rights groups; community based organizations, key populations to TB/HIV, women based groups, persons living with HIV; people who are most vulnerable to and affected by the diseases from the three southeastern counties attended the dialogue.
Mrs. Hilton disclosed during the dialogue that the Global Fund has allocated to Liberia US$ 37.8 million grant to help curb TB/HIV in the country for the period of three years in Liberia (from 2021-2023). According to her, the government is obligated to provide a 10% counterpart funding for the joint grant.
During the interactive dialogue, participants of the three counties identified the followings as priority areas for the new funding request: HIV/TB Prevention; Differentiated HIV testing services, and TB/HIV Collaboration; HIV Treatment, Care and support services, and Multi-Drug Resistance (MDR-TB); Prevention of HIV from Mother to Child Transmission, and TB Program Management; HIV/TB Collaboration, and Reducing human rights and gender-related barriers to TB services; HIV Program management, and Removing human rights and gender-related barriers to HIV services.—Press release
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