Bhutan is hosting the first Regional Coordinating Mechanism meeting of the Global Fund South-East Asia Region constituency in Thimphu. The two-day meeting, which ended today, created a platform for member countries to come together and fight against HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria in the region.
This meeting discussed the priority strategies and fund mobilisation for Regional Coordination Mechanism – discussions to be presented to the Global Fund Board in a united voice. In particular, it will identify and discuss the bottlenecks in tackling cross-border and migration issues for HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
“The aspiration of elimination of malaria, TB and HIV by 2030 is not possible without the consolidated effort of different countries. There are some issues which cannot be solved by individual countries like population movement and also the harmonization of the programs, particularly in the bordering areas,” M A Faiz (PhD), a Board Member of Global Fund, said.
“While each country has been effectively managing these three diseases the cross border issues have consequences on this effectiveness. So therefore if you have a mechanism, it would be able to coordinate effectively and managed,” Dasho Kuenzang Wangdi, an Alternative Board Member of Global Fund, said.
The event is an outcome of the Global Fund Pre-Board South East Asia Constituency meeting held in Yangon, Myanmar in October last year.
Choni Dema
