Contributor:
Meriel Perez
Action for Health Initiatives Inc. (ACHIEVE), Philippines
With activities under the Sustainability of HIV Services for Key Populations in Asia Program-2 (SKPA-2) kicking off this 2022, the Action for Health Initiatives, Inc. (ACHIEVE), hosted a hybrid webinar on Civil Society Organization (CSO) Funding Mechanisms last October 25, 2022, at the B Hotel Quezon City, Philippines.
ACHIEVE, a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in the Philippines working to address issues on HIV since 2000, is one of the country sub-recipients (SR) of the SKPA-2 project funded by The Global Fund. Aside from contributing to two objectives of the regional project – (1) accelerate financial sustainability, and (2) improve strategic information, ACHIEVE is also tasked to provide regional technical assistance to the other three SRs namely: Save the Children from Bhutan, Youth for Health from Mongolia, and Family Planning Association from Sri Lanka.
The webinar was the first of the upcoming learning series that aims to encourage and synthesize ideas among the SKPA countries. The learning series will cover discussions on budget advocacy, dissemination of technical materials such as technical briefs, and other activities that will provide a venue for the SRs to share best practices on HIV financing.
The objectives of the webinar were: (1) to orient SKPA-2 implementers and partners on different CSO Funding Mechanisms utilized across the region, and (2) to determine the immediate next steps with the Country SRs on how to utilize key learnings from the webinar in their advocacy plans.
Mara Quesada, the Executive Director of ACHIEVE, opened and welcomed the participants of the webinar and provided everyone with the background of the activity. This was followed by Veronique Collard of UNAIDS who served as a keynote speaker and shared highlights and key information on HIV Financing in Asia.
With the different cases discussed by invited resource speakers and the discussions of country contexts on HIV financing, the three-hour-long webinar seemed short. Here are some of the highlights addressed by the speakers:
Case 1: FPOP Iloilo HIV Funding Mechanism
The first case was presented by Mona Liza Diones, the Chapter Program Manager of the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines – Iloilo. She discussed the organization’s major funding mechanisms which include national government contracts, donor-funded programs, projects, and activities, and other mechanisms such as the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation OHAT Reimbursement. In addition, Mona highlighted FPOP’s internal and external strategies for sustaining HIV financing.
Case 2: The LoveYourself: Journey towards sustaining an HIV Social Enterprise
Danvic Rosadiño, the Program and Innovations Director of The LoveYourself, Inc. (TLY) provided an overview of their milestones through the years. From its early stages in 2011 when they struggled to access funds, their experiences in entering public-private partnerships in 2012, and eventually having access to grant support in 2013.
Case 3: HIV Financing Mechanisms employed by CSOs: Case Example from Thailand
Supabhorn Pengnonyang, the Capacity Building and Advocacy Manager of the Institute of HIV Research and Innovation (IHRI), provided all participants with a clear picture of the HIV financing mechanisms of the CSOs in Thailand. She explained the strategy for linking CSOs to funding in four simple points: (1) adapting a new payment system, (2) supporting CSOs to register with their National Health Security Office, (3) finding and developing the most effective payment systems for CSOs, (4) launching new payment for CSOs. Khun Supabhorn highlighted the importance of a long-term strategy for CBOs in sustaining their roles in their national healthcare system.
Case 4: The Malaysian AIDS Council Experience
Although representatives from the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) were not able to attend the webinar due to festivities in Malaysia, Mara Quesada was able to present the unique case of MAC, an umbrella organization of CSOs and community organizations in Malaysia working in HIV and AIDS. She provided a brief explanation of the process of how MAC works with organizations working in HIV and AIDS from different parts of the country including assistance in developing project proposals, their mechanism in screening and reviewing proposals, and eventually determining which to fund by working closely with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance.
“The policy environment, the CSOs’ capacity and eligibility, and the availability of investments, are three key elements that we need to be working on in relation to this journey of our advocacy to increase the sustainability of CSOs by convincing the government to fund these interventions.”
Concluding message by the Executive Director of ACHIEVE, Mara Quesada
Download Presentation Slides:
- Presentation: ACHIEVE-Philippines
- Presentation: FPOP Iloilo
- Presentation: IHRI-Thailand
- Presentation: UNAIDS Asia Pacific
- Presentation: LoveYourself-Philippines
- Presentation: Malaysian AIDS Council-Malaysia
About the Contributor
Meriel Perez
Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Officer – SKPA-2
Action for Health Initiatives Inc. (ACHIEVE), Philippines
Meriel Perez is currently the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Officer of ACHIEVE for the SKPA-2 Project. Armed with a degree in International Studies from Miriam College, Miss Perez pursued further learning from Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea majoring in the same field with a focus on Development Cooperation. With her utmost interest in development studies and gender and development both at the national and international fronts, Miss Perez is building a promising career in research and M&E.
