GFAN in Lyon at the Global Fund 6th Replenishment
GFAN Pre-Meeting
Members of civil society and communities gathered together on the morning of October 8 for a discussion, updates, and a Q&A with Global Fund Executive Director, Peter Sands. The meeting was hosted by GFAN and its Regional Partners from Africa and Asia-Pacific. Participants had an opportunity to gather as well as to look at last-minute messaging and preparations for the conference. We would like to give a special thank you to the Global Fund for providing this space for advocates and communities to meet.
Demonstration in the Streets of Lyon
French Advocates invited GFAN members to join a peaceful demonstration on the evening of October the 8th to ask for an increase of the French contribution to the Global Fund (by at least 25%) and to advocate for a successful 6th Replenishment.
Panel Discussions
On October 8 & 9, GFAN hosted and co-hosted a number of panel discussions.
The first, Funding the Harm Reduction Response: Stepping up the fight to end AIDS among people who use drugs, took place on October 8 and was co-organized by Harm Reduction International. The discussion at this forum was focused on the crucial role played by the Global Fund as the biggest donor to global harm reduction. Participants shared innovative and impactful experiences in harm reduction advocacy, service delivery, and outlined their aims to strengthen dialogue and collaboration between people who use drugs, harm reduction leaders, governments, and the Global Fund.
The second discussion, co-hosted with GNP+, took a look at Global Fund Advocacy on the Road to SDG3 and was held on October 9. Panelists representing various civil society, key populations, and Global Fund perspectives discussed key priorities as Global Fund, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria advocates on the road towards the Sustainable Development Goals in 2030, SDG3 in particular.
Also on October 9, GFAN hosted a discussion entitled Ending the pandemics: Who is stepping up for sustainability?. A recording of the discussion can be found below.
GFAN’s Booth
On October 9 & 10, GFAN had a booth set up in the conference hall outside the panel discussions spaces. At our booth, we shared our Money Matters message:
The US$ 14 billion ask – was always an ambitious target – but, is, in reality, the minimum needed. GFAN has long been clear – to truly Step up the Fight and get us Back on Track towards our sustainable development goals of eliminating the 3 diseases by 2030 – an investment of at least US$ 18 billion in the Global Fund is critical.
And asked booth visitors:
How would you invest another US $4 billion?
You can still tell us how you would invest – visit our money matters page.
Sadly, in all the excitement at the conference we forgot to take photos of our booth in action! So this photo of us getting things set up is all we have! If you want to see photos of our voting baskets for our booth – check out this blog post!
Viewing Party!
Finally, on pledging day, we hosted a viewing party for all advocates who did not have a seat in the live venue so that we could all watch the pledges roll in together. It was nice to share the event with our GFAN family and have a space together to watch the results. Unfortunately, the event ran much later than expected (we even booked the room an extra two hours) and we had to leave our room! Luckily the wifi was still up and running and we were able to see the final results on laptops and phones! Our GFAN family is a resourceful bunch, and came together in the hallway to keep watching on phones and laptops while Macron, Bono, and Bill Gates announced the final numbers.
Thank You Lyon!
Thank you to the city of Lyon for hosting us and supporting the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria!
