Source: https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/covid-19/allocations-and-funding-request-tracker/

These steps will ensure meaningful involvement in the C19RM process by mobilizing the community sector to advocate for ‘More than a seat at the table.’

1. Gather all the relevant documentation:

1. 1. Allocation letter for current grant
   2. C19RM allocation letter, which confirms the potential C19RM amount available to the country, which has been sent to your CCM
   3. C19RM Funding Request Instructions
   4. Template C19RM funding request form 
   5. Health Product Segmentation Framework
   6. National Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19 (“NSPRP”)

*for i and ii, please coordinate with your coordinate with the community and CS representatives in your CCM to find out the key details of these letters *for vi, do get in touch with your CCM Secretariat or CCM representatives for access to these documents

Other relevant documents include, but not limited to the ones listed below. You should check the Global Fund section on the C19RM constantly:

1. COVID-19 Guidance Note: Community, Rights and Gender. Community, rights and gender considerations have also been integrated into disease-specific guidance notes
2. COVID-19 Guidance Note: Human Rights in the Times of COVID-19 
3. Guidance note on conducting inclusive country dialogues virtually
4. Value for Money Technical Brief to address efficiency and sustainability aspects of COVID-19 investment
5. Examples of Community, Rights, and Gender-related Investments during COVID-19: Summary of COVID-19 Guidance Notes and Recommendations from Civil Society and Communities

2. Remember the following key information points.

Country C19RM allocation letters should have already been received by your CCMs. The allocation letters encourage C19RM funding request submission to be done in the earliest windows, which risks funding request processes being rushed and failing to institute meaningful consultations with communities and civil society. We need to push our countries to submit the application in a window when there is confidence that the requirement for robust consultations will be duly met.

If countries need to access funds urgently for commodities, we should push for submission of fast-track requests first and separately from the rest of the Base Allocation request which may be submitted in the later windows.

Community systems and responses are eligible for funding. We should make sure our countries’ C19RM funding requests include the following interventions which are eligible for funding. Also remember that community responses should also be included in the other interventions, even those that are “COVID-19 interventions”, such as contract tracing, testing, work on vaccine hesitancy, etc. :

• Community-led monitoring
• Community-led advocacy and research
• Social mobilization, building community linkages and coordination
• Institutional capacity building, planning and leadership development
• Gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and care
• Respond to human rights and gender-related barriers to services

Ensure that CSS interventions are included in the Base Allocation request and not pushed to the above allocation request.

Support and empower our civil society and community representatives in the CCM with information so that they are able to effectively engage and influence the CCM discussions and decision making on C19RM.

3. Know that your input is essential and critical.

The Global Fund strongly encourages the meaningful involvement of ALL stakeholders, particularly communities and civil society representatives in all its processes at country level, and outlines how communities and civil society can be meaningfully engaged across the 9 of 10 Pillars of national COVID-19 responses. 

The Fund Portfolio Managers have sent the C19RM allocation letters and guidance notes to the Chair of the Country Coordinating Mechanism, copying all CCM members. The CCM Secretariat is tasked with coordinating the development of the C19RM funding request, engaging all stakeholders and submitting the C19RM funding request to the Global Fund Secretariat. Civil society representatives in the CCM should reach out to organizations working with and for people living with HIV, men who have sex with men, people who use drugs, sex workers, transgender people, women and young people as well as people in prison, migrants, indigenous populations and other groups based on the specificities of your country, including “non-traditional” CCM communities (people at risk of COVID-19).

If you are not a member of your country CCM, do get in contact with the CCM member that represents your community. If your community is not represented in the CCM, partner with organizations who are members of your CCM. You can find contact information for your CCM here. In places where key populations face criminalization or other legal obstacles, ensure they can input into the process safely. 

NOTE: in countries with no CCMs, it is important to coordinate efforts with the group or committee that replaces the functions of a CCM. 

4. Do not wait to be asked to participate.

Ask the country focal point how they are facilitating civil society’s input throughout the C19RM process. Also, contact the APCRG Platform to find out if your organization can access technical assistance to improve the quality of civil society involvement. You can also directly contact the civil society representatives in the CCM and arrange a (virtual) meeting, noting that “in addition to CCM’s existing annual funding, a request can be made for an increase of up to 25% of the CCM’s 2021 funding amount to support increased engagement with civil society and communities and to ensure coordination with national response bodies and alignment with national plans.” The funding request preparation process should involve (virtual) consultations with all stakeholders, including validating the final proposal. 

If there are engagement bottlenecks, please do not wait until the submission is completed! Report them as soon as possible to your Country Team, CRG Regional Platform or KP networks.

5. Use technology to offer input and share information. 

COVID-19 has presented obstacles to in-person meetings. However the use of various  communications platforms presents opportunities to engage effectively. The use of these technologies means that geography (and resources) are not obstacles – people can offer input and participate from anywhere. However, civil society partners must clearly understand the roles and responsibilities as well as the opportunities and limitations of this process. Consider using social media and other platforms to share information with your peers and build common priorities and a coherent message. Virtual consultations, such as the Global Fund Virtual Inclusive Dialogue Guidance Note, also offer an opportunity for key populations to participate from the safety of their own environment. Civil society must be involved in all aspects and all stages of the development of the proposal: relevant data gathering and analysis, identification of needs, opportunities and barriers for implementation, agreement on priorities to be funded (it is important to list and include priorities that often get pushed aside: human rights and gender interventions, community-led monitoring, advocacy, etc.), proposal writing, and budget development. After the proposal is reviewed, civil society must be involved in the grant-making process, as explained in Make or Break.