Transgender Influentials shafted at hurriedly haggled CCM representative elections

photo - Two of the leading voices in the Jamaican transgender community (taken from the upcoming Taboo Yardies documentary where they were interviewed)


What are CCMs - COUNTRY COORDINATING MECHANISMS

Country Coordinating Mechanisms are central to the Global Fund's commitment to local ownership and participatory decision-making. These country-level multi-stakeholder partnerships develop and submit grant proposals to the Global Fund based on priority needs at the national level. After grant approval, they oversee progress during implementation. Country Coordinating Mechanisms include representatives from both the public and private sectors, including governments, multilateral or bilateral agencies, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, private businesses and people living with the diseases. For each grant, the Country Coordinating Mechanism nominates one or more public or private organizations to serve as Principal Recipients. CCM Core Functions Coordinate the development and submission of national proposals. Nominate the Principal Recipient. Oversee implementation of the approved grant and submit requests for continued funding. Approve any reprogramming and submit requests for continued funding. Ensure linkages and consistency between Global Fund grants and other national health and development programs.


At a recent stake holders meeting as hosted by HPP an arm of the USAID United States Agency for International Development in Kingston at the Courtleigh Hotel on September 15, 2011 which was originally designed as indicated in this excerpt of the summary - "This consultation is being hosted by the Health Policy Project (HPP) Jamaica (note overview document attached) and will seek to update and hone a shared vision and advocacy agenda for the LGBT community, especially as it concerns its strategic role in the HIV response. The meeting is particularly timely in light of the finalization of the Government of Jamaica’s National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan 2012-2017 and the upcoming Round 11 Global Fund application. This consultation will build on prior strategic visioning and planning work within the community, as well as the ongoing priorities and initiatives underway. In particular, the National LGBT Consultation meeting held in March 2010 provides a base from which to build. The March 2010 consultation meeting produced a National Action Framework for LGBT that has guided important actions in the past 1 ½ years. The goal of this consultation is to develop a shared vision for the LGBT community in moving forward human rights through advocacy and other communication strategies." some agencies present were JASL, JFLAG, Underlined Response etc.

HPP - the Health Policy Project (HPP) aims to strengthen policy, advocacy, and governance for strategic, equitable, and sustainable health programming in developing countries. HPP focuses on key health areas—namely HIV, family planning/reproductive health (FP/RH), and maternal health—as well as crosscutting issues, including gender equality, stigma reduction, and health equity. Building capacity of government, civil society, affected populations, and other partners helps ensure that host countries are at the center of decision making for their health programs. This transfer of skills and leadership is central to the Global Health Initiative (GHI), President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and other U.S. Government (USG) efforts that recognize the importance of in-country capacity, ownership, and accountability for making a lasting impact on health policies, programs, and systems.


In Jamaica, HPP supports in-country partners to strengthen national policy, advocacy, and capacity for reducinggender-based violence (GBV) and stigma and discrimination (S&D) related to HIV and sexual and reproductive health. The proposed program contributes to achievement of the USG’s Partnership Framework with Jamaica,national and PEPFAR objectives for HIV prevention and health systems strengthening, and the GHI’s principle on women, girls, and gender equality. Lessons learned from this work will also inform HIV and RH policy responses in the wider Caribbean region.




GLOBAL FUND

Bearing in mind several of us were not present at that original 2010 meeting as it was a specially selected set of invitees and or we did not receive any report or minutes to that effect so as to aprize us of the discussions. However with the two of the newer leading transgender voices present in the room at this latest meeting the original focus was diverted deliberately by chiefly the Chairman of the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition CVC who also happens to be the chair of the Jamaica AIDS Support for Life's Board and a Management Committee member of JFLAG haggled unto the agenda the vote for the representatives for the MSM and Transgender groups as apart of the CCM structure. While one of the ladies was nominated the what seemed well pre-planned moves were executed with two gay men in essence ending up as the representatives in the form of one Mr. Fabian Thomas (former Programs Officer of the National AIDS Committee) and founder of Sankofa Arts Facilitation deputizing under one half of the Loft Management team in the form of Mr. Brian Paul Welsh both men in my estimation and that of others are unqualified to speak for the transgender community in particular when they do not engage them on points of advocacy. The latter gentleman seeks some members of the transgender community through his party events and club which he manages but nothing more. 


According to reports there was strong protest from the founder of The Underlined Response and a few others as to having persons who can speak directly to the communities represented and a great amount of time was spent arguing this insistence of having this activity done, unfortunately the attendance was low and I could not get time off to attend while some persons walked out during the haggling. The two transgender individuals present in the meeting were shocked and outraged as what was played out before them and that they were left out of their own community representation. 


One in a subsequent conversation with me said she was disappointed as she wanted to play her part and learn the systems and felt they were carried to the meeting just to show a face. If ever we needed more evidence that this kind of shifting is nothing more than a power play then this is it. Even in the face of glaring bare faced unethical moves to secure a grasp on the precious global fund avenue for money in the positioning for the Round 11 tranche of funding for marginalized groups.


All this while the first lady of transgenderism in Jamaica sits at home on intermittent difficult times literally speaking while her sisters are shafted and their issues used to jostle for power.


also see an older report/study in 2010 on Conflict of Interest issues to do with the previous CCM setup:
Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM) Conflict of Interest: ... 


also listen to my most scaving critique yet of the hypocrisy in our advocacy, frankly more and more of us are reaching our limit to the crap we can take while the people who really need the interventions languish.

 Real Advocacy or Not Part 2 - Transgender Influentials shafted by glbtqja5 (errata - it should be Round 11 instead of Round 12 as said in the clip)

Please be vigilant and look out for yourselves.


UPDATE November 2011: Round 11 is no more as Global Fund struggles with funding, see:  Global AIDS funding cuts will affect millions: activists

Transitional Funding Mechanism takes effect

http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/application/

No word yet locally as to what programs may be affected or halted


Peace and tolerance

H