The Uganda Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) for the Global Fund to Hold Regional Consultations to Gather Community Feedback

As part of its continued commitment to inclusivity, the Uganda Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) for the Global Fund is set to conduct regional consultative meetings across the country to ensure that voices from all constituencies are heard and understood on matters concerning the Global Fund.

The move comes at a time when similar consultations have largely been organized by constituency secretariats, with participation limited mainly to close members, leaving out stakeholders from more remote areas.

According to the Executive Secretary/Coordinator of the Uganda Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) for the Global Fund Tonny Luyimbaazi, the regional consultative meetings will begin next week, starting with the Northern Region on Monday, 9 February, followed by the Eastern Region on 11 February, the Central Region on 13 February, and the Western Region on 18 February.

Tonny noted that the CCM has consistently engaged various constituencies on Global Fund issues and system restructuring through consultative meetings involving PLHIV, TB, and malaria constituencies, among others.

“We have always been able to reach these constituencies through their secretariats during Grant Cycle 7, which is due to end in December this year, but not all representatives were included,” he explained.

He further noted that evaluations conducted to assess how best to run the processes and identify lessons learned revealed limited regional consultations, making it difficult to obtain feedback from communities across the country.

Speaking during the NAFOPHANU Annual General Meeting held at the Office of the President in Kampala, Tonny revealed that even when constituency secretariats were asked to convene meetings, they often engaged members based nearby particularly around Kampala leaving out upcountry representatives from areas such as Gulu, Arua, and others.

This, he said, required urgent attention, as one of the core principles of the Global Fund is inclusivity ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to participate and have their voice heard in the process.

As a result, the CCM will conduct four regional consultative meetings in the Western, Central, Eastern, and Northern regions, aimed at ensuring that all constituency representatives actively participate, share their views, and relay information back to the communities they represent so they remain informed about ongoing processes.