AFRO-NETS> GFATM NGO consultation meeting - Urgent call for African participants

GFATM NGO consultation meeting - Urgent call for African participants
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Hello, my name is Mick Matthews, Co-ordinator of the UK NGO AIDS Con-
sortium.

The Consortium is part of the Co-ordinating Team for NGO consulta-
tions on setting up the new Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB & Malaria.

As part of this process, an NGO consultation meeting in Brussels is
planned to take place from the 11th to 13th November. The outcomes of
the meeting will be channeled to government representatives who will
be deciding on the design of the new fund towards the end of Novem-
ber, and so it is important that people with a good understanding of
key issues in TB, HIV/AIDS and/or malaria take part. Participation is
limited (a maximum of 80 people will be invited to attend from around
the world).

The time-frame for organizing this meeting is extremely limited. In
particular, the process for inviting participants and making
travel/visa arrangements must be completed in the next day or so.

WE ARE URGENTLY SEEKING FIFTEEN SUITABLE AFRICAN PARTICIPANTS

A longer and more inclusive invitation process would be preferred,
but given the time constraints we are facing, an open nomination
process is the only option available.

The criteria for participants are as follows:

- must be working with national or local organization in Africa
- must be working on tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and/or malaria;
- good understanding of national and/or regional priority issues re.
   tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and/or malaria;
- good knowledge on the key issues facing NGOs with regards to the
   Global Fund;
- ability to represent NGO and civil society interests at this meet
   ing;
- able to attend meeting in Brussels in just over one week's time.

We invite you to suggest individuals/networks to take part - you may
nominate a representative of your own organization.

The meeting will focus on the four key areas of the Global Fund: Gov-
ernance; Accountability, Eligibility and Technical Review; monitoring
and evaluation; and country process.

I am very aware of the pressure this puts upon you but the timeline
is not something we are able to influence and I apologise if my re-
quest is a difficult one. The process for selecting the final list of
participants was decided by the Consultation Team at a meeting in
Brussels on Friday 26th October.

Nominations must include:

* full name (that is on the passport);
* full contact details;
* specific area(s) of expertise;
* any special requirements;
* any other details you feel are relevant.

Our understanding is that all expenses (flights, accommodation etc.)
for organisations from the south will be paid for, and arrangements
will be coordinated by the Technical Support Secretariat in Brussels.

Your nominations should be sent TODAY via email to:

<ukaidscon@gn.apc.org>