Robert Carr Fund/2019-2021 Coalition Plus

Coalition PLUS

Coalition PLUS is a global network of community organizations working for and led by people living with HIV, gay men, transgender people, people who use drugs and sex workers.

 

Grantee type:
Global
Grant:
$1,700,000
Grant period:
2019-2021

 

Coalition PLUS is governed by a collective of organizations in 12 countries. Six Coalition PLUS members host regional platforms to support community-centred work for universal access to treatment, care and prevention, fight against stigmatization and criminalization of people living with HIV, and rights of key populations: ALCS (Morocco) for the Middle East and North Africa, ARCAD SIDA (Mali) for West Africa, ANSS (Burundi) for East and Central Africa, AGCS (Cameroon) for a francophone African network for LGBT people, PILS (Mauritius) for the Indian Ocean region, and Kimirina (Ecuador) for Latin America.

  • Worldwide, approximately 37 million people are living with HIV. 75% know they are HIV-positive; the rest – over 9 million people – are not yet diagnosed.
  • Three out of five people have started HIV treatment and approximately half of all people living with HIV have undetectable levels of HIV, preventing HIV-related illness and any onward transmission of HIV.  However, this means that half of all people living with HIV – over 18 million people – still need access to services and support for effective HIV treatment.
  • People living with HIV also face systematic human rights violations in all regions of the world, including discrimination in employment, education and health care settings. This potential for discrimination, violence, and other human rights violations creates barriers to access to health services.
  • People living with HIV have important direct experience of HIV-related health needs and barriers to health services. The capacity of networks of people living with HIV to organize and advocate is central to efforts to improve human rights environments, improve HIV service accessibility, and improve efficiency and effectiveness of national and international funding for health and human rights.

 

RCF funding 2019-2021

Coalition PLUS received US$ 1.7 million in funding from the Robert Carr Fund for work during 2019-2021.  This funding is allocated to both core and strategic program costs to help build the capacity of each of the Coalition PLUS members and regional platforms and to support collective action globally.

 

Geographic coverage

Coalition PLUS is a global network, convening and supporting over 70 organizations in West and Central Africa, Eastern and Southern Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America.

 

Population coverage

Coalition PLUS focuses on the global empowerment, leadership, health and rights of people living with HIV, gay men, transgender people, people who use drugs and sex workers.

 

Activities 2019-2021

With RCF funding in 2019-2021, Coalition PLUS will:

  • Invest in capacity of each of the six regional platforms to strengthen representative governance, strategic planning, financial management, communications systems, and staffing to support regional network organizing, organizational assessments, and advocacy trainings.
  • Support each of the six regional platforms to rapidly respond to human rights emergencies and to advocate for human rights, by establishing new partnerships with human rights defenders, sponsoring regional human rights coalitions, developing guidance documents and training materials, training organizations about human rights, creating databases to collect and track human rights violations, cultivating media and developing communications capacity, and directly funding legal and paralegal services for PLHIV and other key populations.
  • Support each of the six regional platforms to advocate for quality accessible services for key populations, including through campaigns for community-centered HIV, STI and viral hepatitis testing and community distribution of PrEP and HIV and STI treatments, and trainings for community organizations about competent provision of these services for key populations.
  • Support advocates in countries of Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America to advocate for national and international financing for health services targeted to the needs of key populations.
    Intended results 2019-2021

 

The intended results from this work during 2019-2021 will include:

  • Network strength and influence:  Stronger regional networks able to lead organizing and advocacy support in francophone Africa and in Latin America.
  • Human rights:  Increased capacity by six regional platforms to rapidly respond to human rights emergencies and to advocate for human rights.
  • Access to services: Increased capacity by six regional platforms to advocate for quality accessible services for key populations.
  • Resource accountability: Increased capacity by advocates in countries of francophone Africa and Latin America to advocate for national and international financing for health services targeted to the needs of key populations.