Annual Report: ECOM's Regional Concept Note to the Global Fund

Proposed Activities.

In August, ECOM was thrilled to learn that its Expression of Interest was approved by the Global Fund. At this point, ECOM began work on the development of a concept note to formally request funding for the regional program.

In September, ECOM began an online regional consultation to engage community representatives and other key partners in the development of the concept note. 66 people from 12 countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Balkans participated in the consultation and ensured that community involvement in the development of the regional program was a key part of the process from the very beginning. The results of the online consultation provided ECOM with invaluable information, confirmed the goals and direction of the regional program, and facilitated the development of the concept note.

Following the online regional consultation, ECOM held a two-day regional dialogue consultation meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. Over 60 participants took part in the meeting, including representatives from national community and civil society organizations, regional and international NGOs, CCMs of CEECA countries, technical agencies and partners, and the Global Fund Secretariat. MSM, trans* individuals, and people living with HIV were also specifically invited to the meeting to provide their input and feedback on the proposed regional program. The discussions from the meeting highlighted the need to support the development of communities of transgender people, as well as subgroups of PLWH and sex workers from MSM and trans* populations. In addition, the input received from all stakeholders involved allowed ECOM to progress to the final stages of the concept note writing process. (More information about the regional dialogue meeting, along with photos from the event, can be found in the next section).

In November, following the regional dialogue meeting, the Steering Committee made the difficult, yet strategic choice of selecting the following five countries for implementation of the regional program: Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Macedonia. The Steering Committee weighed a number of factors, including the HIV prevalence among MSM/TG, the availability (or lack) of national funding for HIV prevention and treatment activities targeting these groups, the level of civil society participation in shaping national policies related to MSM/TG health, subregional representation, as well as the potential impact of the regional program in both individual countries and in the region as a whole.

ECOM representatives visited the proposed participating countries in December in order to present the regional program to CCMs to gain their endorsements, and also met with other stakeholders, including potential sub-recipients. The CCMs of Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Macedonia all voted to endorse ECOM's regional program. Unfortunately, the CCM of Armenia withheld its endorsement of the regional program. However, ECOM is confident that this will not be a significant impediment to the success of the program. ECOM's members in Armenia have given assurances that they can effectively implement the regional program in their country, even without CCM endorsement.

After revising drafts of the concept note, the final version was submitted to the Global Fund on January 29 following the 11-month process. If the concept note is approved by the Global Fund, implementation of ECOM's regional program would commence in 2017.

1. to contribute to an increase in MSM and trans* community participation in decision-making in national HIV responses;

2. to contribute to building the capacity of MSM and trans* organizations by strengthening organizational structures, technical competence and fundraising capacity; and

3. to strengthen enabling environments for HIV services for MSM and trans* people, by fighting stigma and discrimination, promoting and protecting human rights, and removing legal and policy barriers.