Effective engagement

In 2006, 61 participants from 52 organisations across 15 countries in Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean were trained in strategic planning and sustainability, focused prevention intervention design, and advocacy as part of an 18-month programme to increase the capacity of gay and other men who have sex with men to engage in Global Fund mechanisms. The programme was led by the Alliance in partnership with the network for men who have sex with men, Asociación para la Salud Integral y Ciudadanía en América Latina y el Caribe (ASICAL), and the Centre for International Technical Cooperation in Brazil.

Results of the programme include:

  • In Ecuador, there is now a designated space for men who have sex with men in the CCM. One of the programme’s participants, Neptali Arias, now holds this seat and was recently nominated vice-chair.
  • In Paraguay, the gay organisation Fundación Vencer contributed to a successful Global Fund Round 6 proposal.
  • Three new sub-regional networks for men who have sex with men have emerged which aim to foster lesson-sharing, collaboration and coordinated advocacy efforts within the region. The Central American regional network CONGA was officially launched at the first Central American and Caribbean conference for gay and other men who have sex with men.

The results show the Alliance’s value in building the capacity of civil society to engage effectively with the Global Fund and its CCMs.

The virtual training and exchange visits held after training workshops, which allowed participants to put their new skills into practice and create new partnerships between the organisations, has been central to the programme’s success. For example, some participants learned more about advocating for the meaningful involvement of men who have sex with men in decision-making spaces by accompanying those meeting with the local mayor or national AIDS programme. Others chose to visit prevention projects and learn more about peer outreach work.

Although the project ended in 2006, the Alliance is continuing to work with ASICAL in 2007 to support further improvement of the training tools.