Author: Orlando Montoya Herrera, ASICAL

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Author Orlando Montoya Herrera, ASICAL
Asociación para la Salud Integral y Ciudadanía
en América Latina- ASICAL

• Advocacy in Latin America
• increasing the participation
• of communities Gay, Trans and MSM

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Background

• Global Fund financing of national level projects
  represented an advance in terms of access to
  resources to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the
  region. However, Gay, bisexual and Transgender
  groups working in MSM and HIV/AIDS in the Region
  need to address the challenge of ensuring an
  adequate level of technical capacity to develop
  proposals and implement programmes with resources
  from this finance mechanism, such us, their
  participation at Country Coordination Mechanism
  (CCM).
• The project
• During 2005 and 2006 a regional programme was
  implemented focused capacity building in
  Organizational and project management, advocacy
  and HIV programming for Gay, Trans and other MSM
  groups, NGOs and CBOs.

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• Goal
• To increase the level of involvement of GBT (Gay,
  Bisexual and Trans) groups working on HIV/AIDS in
  Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria Country
  Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM) and increase the
  effectiveness of the implementation of projects
  supported as sub-recipients in Latin America and
  the Spanish speaking Caribbean.
• Metodology
• The training process was transformed from the
  usual single training workshop to a system of
  semi-structured learning via three modules with
  face-to-face training follow up by tasks and work
  in their organizations to be completed between
  the modules. The programme had an important
  component of long distance learning through the
  e-platform of ASICAL. The last quarter of the
  programme, an exchange visit system enable
  members of participants organization and groups
  to spend time in organizations of other countries
  as part of planned, structured and evaluated
  lesson sharing interventions.

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Principal achievements and Conclusions

• The program trained 15 trainers from across Latin
  America in the design and use of modules.
• 63 representatives from 53 organizations of
  eleven countries in the region were trained, who
  then applied the knowledge they gained to their
  local and national-level work.
• 60 groups received training and then participated
  in the implementation of projects under the
  Global Fund Men who have Sex with Men
  component.
• Participation by the groups in the CCM increased
  by 10, and some participants achieved leadership
  roles.

• Knowledge management, long distance and
  e-learning, exchange visits, as well as a
  systematic approach to capacity building proved
  to be a useful tool to improve the capacity of
  the organizations involved, and to increase their
  involvement to influence decision makers. It also
  provided a useful mechanism for continued
  exchange between leaders participating in spaces
  such as the CCM and other local, national and
  regional initiatives. Community base groups of
  key populations (such as Gay and Trans) are
  under-funded by Global Fund grants in the region
  and capacity building programmes at the regional
  level contributes to improve programme
  effectiveness and a meaningful involvement.

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Conclusions

• Knowledge management, long distance and
  e-learning, exchange visits, as well as a
  systematic approach to capacity building proved
  to be a useful tool to improve the capacity of
  the organizations involved, and to increase their
  involvement to influence decision makers. It also
  provided a useful mechanism for continued
  exchange between leaders participating in spaces
  such as the CCM and other local, national and
  regional initiatives. Community base groups of
  key populations (such as Gay and Trans) are
  under-funded by Global Fund grants in the region
  and capacity building programmes at the regional
  level contributes to improve programme
  effectiveness and a meaningful involvement.

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Muchas Gracias!
Asociación para la Salud Integral y Ciudadanía de
América Latina y el Caribe www.asical.org