The Stop TB Partnership is pleased to announce that the Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN) has been selected to coordinate the affected communities and civil society platform for the 2023 UN High-Level Meeting (UN HLM) on TB and help coordinate the participation and meaningful engagement of TB communities in the lead up the meeting. GFAN was chosen through a competitive open call for proposals launched by Stop TB Partnership.
“The 2023 TB UNHLM in 2023 will only be successful if TB communities’ priorities and voices are at the center of discussions, consultations, and advocacy in the lead up to the meeting. They will play a critical role in holding member states accountable for the targets agreed at the 2018 UNHLM on Political Declaration and the commitments they will make at the 2023 UNHLM on TB. GFAN’s role will be essential in supporting these processes and we count on their reach and experience to fulfill it,” said Dr. Lucica Ditiu, Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership.
GFAN was established in 2011 to build a global social movement to demand health for all by recruiting, connecting and mobilizing advocates to communicate the urgent need and demand of fully funding global health initiatives. Their successful proposal to host the 2023 platform for communities and civil society engaging in the TB high-level meeting sets out a clear plan for supporting inclusive engagement from communities and Civil Society Organizations (CSO’s), working in close collaboration with Stop TB Partnership Board constituencies and Secretariat and partners, through 2023 up to the High-Level Meeting in close collaboration with .
“While most know our work in the context of the Global Fund, specifically over recent years, we have led and engaged in collaboration with others in broader global health spaces – in alignment with our new strategy, launched in 2021, and building on our experience including our work on the 2018 TB HLM,” said Katy Kydd Wright, Director of GFAN. “We will use the same guiding principles we apply to all our work to inform how we co-create a space with identified regional partners in a shared leadership approach for communities and civil society to learn from each other, find support and collaborate to maximize our collective impact on the high-level meeting.”
Stop TB encourages all TB affected community and civil society organizations to actively engage in the processes that will lead to the TB UNHLM 2023. We will continue to support the coordinated engagement of more than 100 Challenge Facility for Civil Society grantees as a part of a broader engagement in the lead up to the UNHLM on TB. This initiative is based on the successful outcome of the dedicated information and strategizing sessions conducted during the recent Stop TB Community Summit held in Bangkok, in November 2022.
GFAN will be issuing a term of reference for lead consultant(s) to support this work, will invite and convene partners from 6 regions and other key allies to join them in a leadership group in the next few weeks and will work towards a first global call civil society and communities in January 2023. GFAN will be posting information along the way here which will include links to resources, calls to action, templates for advocacy and regular updates.
The Stop TB Partnership and GFAN are committed to supporting meaningful and comprehensive support for TB affected communities and civil society.
Guided by the Stop TB Governing Board Decision and with guidance from Stop TB’s Community and NGO Delegations, Stop TB Partnership is also supporting the commencement of the second TB community accountability report “A Deadly Divide”.
Contact emails: quentin@globalfundadvocatesnetwork.org / unhlm@stoptb.org
Follow us on twitter: @GFAN @stoptb