GFAN Africa – Day of Action for African Governments
On 19 September 2019 GFAN Africa, in collaboration with WACI Health, organized a day of advocacy dubbed Day of Action for African Governments. Members of the Network delivered letters to Presidents of African Countries, asking them to contribute to the 6th Replenishment of the Global Fund as well as allocating additional domestic resources for health in their respective countries.
The 6th Replenishment Conference will take place on 9 October 2019 in Lyon, France and seeks to raise a minimum of US$14 billion to be able to #getbackontrack to defeat HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria worldwide. The 6th Replenishment funds will help save 16 million lives, cut the mortality rate from HIV, TB, and malaria by half, and will build stronger health systems by 2023. Further, these resources will contribute to achieving Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC) and Sustainable Development Goal 3 on the health and wellbeing of all.
GFAN Africa members in the following countries delivered letters to their Presidents, with copies to the Ministers for Finance, Ministers for Health and Parliamentary Committees for Health and Budget: Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Nigeria, Eswatini, Cameroon, Chad, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Congo, and Ghana.
The target of eradicating these three epidemics in Africa is an ambitious one. It can only be achieved if there is greater government ownership in ensuring that their countries fund programs and meet their national target in the global progress to eliminate the diseases. These commitments are necessary to sustain gains made so far against these diseases and to continue to make progress in their eradication.