Supporting the African Constituencies: APHRCs experiences Catherine Kyobutungi African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) APHRC: What we Do Background Out of recognition that Africa Constituencies voices needed to be heard, more, better and consistently Idea of establishment of ACB was mooted and approved As parallel process of operationalizing the ACB progressed APHRC contracted to play an interim role Not miss input into key developments The APHRC Remit Identifying priority issues, synthesize, and develop briefing notes to enable constituents better represent African issues. Coordinate, support, and strengthen the ability of constituents to lead and participate in discussions Review and reflect on GF processes & strategies, and alert constituents on the impact of decisions. Our involvement so far.. Supported the SIIC, FOPC in Oct 2014 Supported the Board meeting Nov 2014 Supported SIIC, FOPC, & AEC Feb 2015 Supported Board meeting March 2015 Supported the organization of this What made our work easy Support from Africa Constituencies focal points & GF secretariat Preparatory meeting with AC focal points and GF secretariat staff Global Fund 101 Thorough documentation of processes, decisions Continuity in the GF decision making and governance processes What made our work easy. Opportunity to engage with African delegations prior to the Board meetings What we have going for us A is for Africa Capacity Nimble and adaptable Results-oriented but pragmatic What made our lives not so easy. (Very) Late delivery of (some) key documents Very quick turnaround times synthesis and summarizing Limited time for feedback on written documents Almost no time left for documents that needed translation Communication channels Generation of evidence to support positions Unrealistic timeframes Lack of clarity on what issues need evidence Mitigation Pick issues that benefit from continuity of the decision-making process but are also time bound Focus on identifying and articulating a set of issues and use every opportunity to take a position Next Steps Next 6 months Continue support to the African Constituencies representatives to Committees and Board Undertake select analyses to position the African Constituencies Key issues pertinent to the new strategy Understanding and addressing operational bottlenecks Formalizing institutional arrangements with EPHA Next 24+ months Continue support for participation through ACB More analyses for emerging issues Capacity building for the ACB to ensure smooth transition Thank You