Focus: GS-II Social Justice
Why in news?
Deprived of sources of livelihood during the pandemic, sex workers, transpersons, gay and bi-sexual men, drug users and people living with HIV/AIDS have petitioned the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM) protesting against being ignored by government and multilateral agencies in coronavirus (COVID-19) related emergency relief efforts.
Details
- The petition on behalf of “key populations affected by HIV/AIDS” or KPs have sought allocation of funds to meet their basic survival needs for food, shelter and emergency medical care as many find themselves without work and displaced due to lockdown restrictions accompanying the pandemic everywhere.
- The petitioners urge the GFATM to issue guidance to governments to channelise their COVID-19 relief funds to emergency survival needs of KPs.
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM)
- The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (or simply the Global Fund) is an international financing and partnership organization that aims to “attract, leverage and invest additional resources to end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria to support attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations”.
- This multistakeholder international organization maintains its secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland.
- The Global Fund is the world’s largest financier of AIDS, TB, and malaria prevention, treatment, and care programs.
- The Global Fund is a financing mechanism and NOT an implementing agency.
- Programs are implemented by in-country partners such as ministries of health, while the Global Fund secretariat, whose staff only have an office in Geneva, monitor the programs.
- The model has also raised concerns about conflict of interest, as some of the stakeholders represented on the Country Coordinating Mechanisms may also receive money from the Global Fund, either as grant recipients, sub-recipients, private persons (e.g. for travel or participation at seminars) or contractors.
-Source: The Hindu
