Thomson Reuters Foundation: To end the world’s deadliest diseases, invest in civil society
Allan Maleche, human rights lawyer, board member of the Developing Countries NGO Delegation to the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and executive director of the Kenya Legal & Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN)

“…[C]ivil society is central to an effective response to HIV, TB, and malaria. … That’s why recent efforts to restrict civil society activity are alarming. … The backing of civil society should stand as a key priority for U.S. and other international major financing efforts to end the three epidemics. Investments now to bolster the capacity and reach of civil society stand to yield outcomes valuable to U.S interests and health security: advancing nations’ self-sufficiency; moving toward epidemiological control of HIV, TB, and malaria; and decreasing the potential for another public health crisis, such as the Ebola outbreak in 2014. The United States, in combination with like-minded donors, should apply its resources, voice, unrivaled diplomatic political network — in partnership with partners like the Global Fund — to help to ensure civil society is not left behind” (7/12).