The Talking Points of the Communities Delegation during the 18th Executive UNITAID Board Meeting
18th Executive UNITAID Board Meeting (Geneva-Switzerland)6-7
June, 2013Communities Delegation`s Talking pointsBoard Member:
Nelson Otowoma (Absent with apologies)Alternate Board Member:
Gracia Violeta Ross [email protected] Report of FAC
(Finance and Accountability Committee) self assessment +++Ethics
committeeRecalling the call of the chair in the 17th Executive
Board minutes (pp18):The CHAIR noted that there are ethical issues
in relation to confidential information. He suggested that setting
up a UNITAID ethics committee would be helpfulThe Communities
Delegation expresses its strong interest on participating on the
conformation and work of such committee. With concern we noted that
UNITAID has a conflict of interest policy which has been approved 6
years ago and has not been updated since.We all have conflicts of
interest and it is very important we address and disclose those
regularly and implemented for all board members.Having made an
analysis of our involvement on this board, we note that as
communities living with HIV, TB and malaria we have an interest,
which is LIFE, ACCESS, EQUITY and HUMAN RIGHTS for all people in
need.+++Fundraising Strategy and Resource Mobilization Plan ready
by the end of 2013Secondly, we noted the UNITAID strategy will have
a Fundraising Strategy and Resource Mobilization Plan ready by the
end of 2013; the Community Delegations wants to be engaged
considering our experience in fundraising and engagement of country
level stakeholder, use the expertise of us who are living with the
diseases every day. Proposal Review Committee (PRC) EvolutionIn
regards to the potential new members in the PRC, we want to remind
the board of the experience that lies in COMMUNITY MEMBERS LIVING
WITH THE DISEASES, there are many global organizations such as
UNFPA, UNAIDS, UN Women that are beginning to acknowledge the
experience of community based individuals and organizations,
because we are on the ground, we know what works and what does not,
we accumulated years of experience living with the diseases to the
point that we have, sometimes, better expertise than the experts
themselves, this is why consultants come to our countries and ask
us what to do for HIV, TB and Malaria. We want this knowledge to
serve UNITAID. We take the medications that UNITAID pays for.We
want to stress the importance of having and independent group of
experts that are conscious of UNITAID conflict of interest policy,
this is essential for our accountability as a leading global entity
in HIV, TB and malaria.The Communities Delegation would like to be
involved in the nomination of the PRC members in whatever format it
comes to be. KPI (Key Performance Indicators)The Communities
Delegation welcomes the document but need to see a focus on a
framework more than words and terminology, the links with: The
Strategy and its implementation plan A M&E plan And the
Resource and Mobilization Plan which is meant to be ready by the
end of 2013, this link is essential.In addition, the KPIs have to
integrate aspects of: results framework impact assessmenteven
considering unintended consequences of UNITAID interventions,
specially the one related to market interventions. Management
response to the 5 Year Evaluation+++Communities living with the
diseases as strong UNITAID partnersThanks for the inclusion of
civil society among UNITAID partners at country level, especially
communities living with the 3 diseases. This re affirms in practice
the important role that UNITAID places in communities in country
responses.Some of you might know the Communities Delegation has a
Community Support Team whose ToR are being up dated in order to
support better the work of UNITAID`s work at country level.We can
help in all the areas UNITAID works, but especially in those
related to resource mobilization and advocacy that favors all the
issues contained in UNITAID`s mission.+++Work of UNITAID with MICs
(Middle Income Countries) for market impact interventionsIn regards
to the response to the 5 year evaluation, the Communities
Delegations welcomes the document, but we want to make a plea in
relation to Recommendation No. 3, and the work of UNITAID across
income country groups.The 5 Year Evaluation stated that our weakest
area is market intervention, this is the heart of UNITAID and we
want to remind you that in order to achieve this goal, we have to
work with Middle Income Countries (MICs) in a more proactive way.
We commend UNITAID for co-sponsoring a meeting with MICs together
with Brazil and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) ad UNAIDS, next
week in Brazil, we are confident, this meeting will give us
insights, strategies on how to work better with these countries and
not only the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa)
countries but also the small MIC countries. Improvement of HIV
first line treatmentsThis proposal is critical for us living with
HIV, so many years we have seen our friends and colleagues dying of
lactic acidosis, peripheral neuropathy, suffering and dying
needlessly. This proposal will improve our quality of life and we
want t thank you for this great idea. I wish the science and funds
had been available beforeThe Communities Delegation thanks the
reference to the Treatment 2.0 WHO strategy in the document, and we
would like to remind board members about 1 of the 5 pillars of the
Treatment 2.0 strategy without which, success might be slow, we are
referring to the pillar on MOBILIZATION OF COMMUNITIES, because we
are essential for: Community based work for treatment adherence
including literacy and preparedness for the switch of ARV
(antiretroviral) regimes Advocacy for treatment policies at country
level and mobilizing country ownership, mobilizing policy changes
in our national HIV programs to speed the process of the adoption
of the most up to date ARV guidelines Oppositions to potential
intellectual property barriers which are mentioned in the proposal,
we are very concerned about ongoing free trade agreements between
India and the European Union and the potential impact of that for
the entire developing world. We can also evaluate and monitor
programs, prevent potential frauds, watch the supply chain, pricing
or over pricing of these drugs, stock outs, quantifications, and
specially creating a massive demand of communities for having a
better and less toxic regime.Being the last link in the supply
chain, because we decide every day if we will take the ARV
medications or not, our involvement in such programs that pursue
and will accelerate the switch of ARV regimes is of paramount
importance. We know this work with communities is not something
that is currently done by CHAI (Clinton Health Access Initiative).
We also know currently UNITAID does not fund community led
initiatives, you may consider this in the future because it is in
the best interest of UNITAID to secure the investment we are making
in purchasing tenofovir, will reach the last link of the supply
chain, us when we take the medication and remain adherent to
tenofovir.Even in a context of new WHO (World Health Organization)
ARV guidelines, some of our governments might not be so quick in
implementing those, unless we are there demanding for this to
happen.In regards to the proposal, we still have to ask what will
happens to other 2 thirds that are not going to be taken of
stavudine? Who will see what happens to those staduvine not used in
the 1 third of the market? Someone has to follow on what will
happen, someone has to watch an illegal market of stavudine is not
created as a result of 1 third getting off from it. We can do this
because we are the communities living with the disease every day,
right there on the ground.We also need to see better strategies to
boost generic competition so that we don`t put the destiny of our
lives in one single supplier.Therefore, we strongly support the
urgent revision of the proposal by the PRC. Update on OperationsThe
Communities Delegation congratulates Raquel Child for her work in
UNITAID, it is so refreshing to see people from Latin America
working in UNITAID, sometimes we get the feeling as if UNITAID was
created only for African countries, we know this is not right and
we are eager to see more work of UNITAID in Latin American
countries as well as in other regions.In regards to the Update on
Operations, just had a clarification question, in Table 1 there are
more than 3 projects that have an end note that says ended in
December 2012 but these are still appearing as active projects.What
is our mechanism to face out UNITAID projects once our support is
finished? Just a clarification of what is our good bye to
countries, especially considering follow up, country ownership of
whatever initiatives we had started in countries. Mozambique
country visitIn regards to the report on the country consultation
in Mozambique, we welcome this especially because our strategy and
its Core action area 4, relates to Strong relationships with global
partners, countries, and civil society, especially communities (pp
16).
We already told you about our Community Support Team and our
efforts to make it more functional in order to support the
monitoring of UNITAID projects at country level.
A country visit is or can be very important but we really need
to build a strong community network right there, because at the end
of the day, any of us who could have joined or not that meeting
(nor myself or the board member of the Communities Delegation had
attended this meeting, presumably due to a funding limitation), but
if we attended, then we are gone right? We get on the plane and go
back to our home countries and offices and the people of the
communities are left there, and they are the ones who have to deal
with whatever problems come on their care. This is why, my personal
vision is that more important than a country visit, for me as only
the first phase of a process, we need to invest in the empowerment
on that people living with the disease, so that they carry on the
follow up of these projects. I can seat here in this board because
someone invested on me, on my empowerment. This takes me to my
earlier point, if we want successful continuation of UNITAID
projects after we finish a country visit or after a projects ends,
we need to empower that communities living with the diseases right
there because they will have to fight for their lives every
day.NOTE: UNITAID Board documents are confidential documents and
therefore can`t be shared but these talking points made by the
Communities Delegation are already public. Once the UNITAID
secretariat uploads the Board Resolutions I will send a link where
those can be read.Gracia Violeta [email protected]
