Global Fund

"Compassionate health care in the service of Christ"

CATHCA GLOBAL FUND PROGRAMME 2008-2010  

What it the Global Fund?

The Global Fund was set up in 2000 by the United Nations specifically to combat the three great diseases of AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.  These diseases kill over 6 million people each year, and the numbers are growing. To date, the Global Fund has committed US$ 7.6 billion in 136 countries to support aggressive interventions against all three diseases.As a partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities, the Global Fund represents an innovative approach to international health financing.

How does it work?   Country Coordinating Mechanisms are central to the Global Fund's commitment to local ownership and participatory decision-making. These country-level partnerships develop and submit grant proposals to the Global Fund based on priority needs at the national level. After grant approval, they oversee progress during implementation. Our CCM is SANAC, the SA National AIDS Council. 

How did we get involved in it?

The CATHCA Global Fund project is a culmination of two years’ work.  The first application was made in 2005.  Letters were written to all CATHCA clinics and projects and they were informed that an application to the Global Fund was going to be made on CATHCA’s behalf. Organisations were asked to complete a “wish list” of projects they would like to implement if the funds were forthcoming. At that stage we did not know the limits or requirements of the Global Fund or of SANAC. 

This application was sent to SANAC in 2005 but the Global Fund Board declined to fund South Africa in that year.  The following year, CATHCA resubmitted and this time the Global Fund accepted SA's application.  The result is that CATHCA will be funded with $ 4,265,000 for a period of only three years. The funds were released in February 2008 and they cover the following areas in HIV prevention and care:

a)      Home Based care training, home based care workshops and provision         of stipends and home based care kits,

b)      Voluntary Counselling and Testing training, provision of VCT rapid test         kits and provision of stipends to trained counsellors,

c)      Peer Education Training, IEC material support,

d)      Nutrition support to people living with HIV/AIDS, financial support to         facilitate meetings and workshops to HIV/AIDS support groups,

e)       Financial support to establish food gardens for support groups.

CATHCA Global Fund targets in addressing HIV/AIDS prevention work,

CATHCA under the Global Fund Support has the following targets to meet in 2008:  

a)      Provide Home based care training, stipends and home based care kits to 500 community home based carers,

b)      Provide peer education training and support to 80 peer educators, provide peer education to 10 clinics

c)      Provide Voluntary Counseling and Testing training and pay stipends to 40 trained counselors,

d)      Provide HIV testing to 12 000 people

e)      Establish 10 food gardens for HIV/AIDS support groups

f)       Support 500 families with nutritional food support

g)      Provide capacity buiding to all contracted sub-sub recipients in monitoring, evaluation and reporting of all programme activities.

If you wish to know more about the Global fund programme, contact the Global Fund Manager Sinikiwe Sithole, or the Global Fund Financial officer, Teresa Whitaker, at the CATHCA national offices on 011 880 4022

Sinikiwe and Teresa