Global Health Governance

STOPAIDS work focuses on the meaningful participation of civil society and communities in global health governance and pandemic preparedness across a number of key areas: 

Ensuring meaningful participation across the global health architecture:

Inclusive Global Health Institutions Project

The Inclusive Global Health Institutions Project is co-led by WACI Health, Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN), Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) and STOPAIDS. The project aims to secure the meaningful participation of civil society and communities in global health governance and builds on a number of key areas of STOPAIDS work including the Platform for ACT-A Civil Society and Community Representatives, the Principles of Meaningful Involvement of Communities and Civil Society in Global Health Governance and convening of civil society and community delegations. The Project currently supports civil society and community participation in the development of the proposed WHO medical countermeasures platform, and as a member of the interim support team to the Pandemic Fund civil society board members, supporting engagement at the Board and with broader civil society and community networks. 

Learn more about the Inclusive Global Health Institutions Project

The Principles of Meaningful Involvement of Communities and Civil Society in Global Health Governance

The Principles of Meaningful Involvement of Communities and Civil Society in Global Health Governance have been developed by collating the experiences of communities and civil society in global health to suggest what lessons and principles we should take forward in global health governance. Drawing on years of established practice across the majority of the largest global health multilaterals, the principles have been developed through a taskforce of community and civil society representatives from the different global health initiatives.

The principles are a best practice guide for all stakeholders in global health which aim to ensure the expertise and lived experience of civil society and communities is recognised and respected and that their voices and power in decision making processes is formalised to ensure more effective and representative governance structures. The institutions these principles focus on are The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Unitaid, The Global Financing Facility (GFF), Stop TB Partnership, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and UNAIDS. 

Learn more and support these principles here: governance-principles.org 

Platform for ACT-A Civil Society and Community Representatives

Between 2020 and 2023, WACI Health, Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN) and STOPAIDS established and hosted the Platform for ACT-A Civil Society and Community Representatives. The Platform provided systematic representation of civil society and communities across all pillars and working groups of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A), increased the ACT-A’s accountability and effectiveness and provided a model for ensuring strong standards of meaningful involvement of civil society and communities in global health initiatives. 

More information about the work of the Platform can be found here: http://covid19advocacy.org/

Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response

STOPAIDS is currently listed as a relevant stakeholder to the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body, drafting and negotiating a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. Our work focuses on ensuring the meaningful participation of civil society and communities in the negotiations and governance of any future Pandemic Accord. STOPAIDS is also a Steering Committee Member of the Civil Society Alliance for Human Rights in the Pandemic Accord (in a shared seat with GNP+) and currently chairs the meaningful participation working group. The Alliance is an informal, open group of organisations and individual experts around the world working to promote and mainstream human rights considerations in ongoing negotiations for an Accord or Treaty on Pandemic Preparedness, Prevention and Response. More information can be found here: https://pandemiccsa.org/

Engagement in CSO delegations:

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

STOPAIDS is an active member of the Global Fund Developed Country NGO Delegation, with our CEO Mike Podmore previously serving as the Board Member for the Developed Country NGO Delegation. Since 2022, STOPAIDS Co-Director of Advocacy Tabitha Ha has been a member of the Global Fund Developed Country NGO Delegation and within this role works with a broad array of partners on the board to provide oversight to the Global Fund Secretariat in the delivery of its strategy. 

You can find more information on the work of the Delegation or get involved by visiting the website.

Unitaid

STOPAIDS hosts the Liaison Officer for the NGO Delegation of the Board of Unitaid. Unitaid does crucial work supporting innovation in global health and overcoming access barriers to medicines and diagnostics to address AIDS, TB, Malaria, HIV/HepC Co-infection, RMNCH and, most recently, Covid-19 with its role in ACT-A. As one of only two civil society seats on the Board, the NGO delegation has an important role to play in keeping the Unitaid board accountable. 

You can find out more about the NGO Delegation by contacting the Liaison Officer or visiting the website. 

Convening of civil society and community delegations 

STOPAIDS, GFAN, WACI Health and GNP+ coordinate the civil society and community delegation calls which bring together the representatives from the different delegations, typically on a bi-annual basis, to discuss key cross-cutting issues as civil society. 

The civil society and community representatives meetings aim to provide an opportunity for those engaged in the governance of various global health institutions to share key priorities, experiences and analysis of various issues, opportunities and challenges as delegations. These meetings are a crucial opportunity to better collaborate and support each other’s advocacy and therefore the agendas for each meeting are always co-created to ensure the meetings are relevant to all delegations involved. 

Resources