Friends of the Global Fight Blog: Health Requires a Healthy Voice for Civil Society
Mark P. Logan, chief policy officer at Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, discusses the findings of reports from South Africa-based CIVICUS and the Global Fund highlighting the importance of civil society participation in policymaking, including public health programs. He concludes, “The Global Fund and U.S. bilateral programs like the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), and USAID’s TB program as a collective effort have made great progress in the past 15 years against the three diseases — in part by getting civil society at the table to demand, help shape, and implement solutions. Continued U.S. resources for these programs are crucial, and cannot be taken in isolation. Funding for international affairs programs to foster development, pluralism, vital civil society voices, and more accountable and democratic governance are important, too…” (5/10).