GATE is proud to announce that we have commenced our Community, Rights and Gender (CRG) Strategic Initiatives project, which focuses on developing skills and building the capacity of transgender communities to meaningfully engage with Global Fund processes in areas of HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. This two-year project, which commenced in January 2018, includes nine countries: Myanmar, Nepal, India, Thailand, and Vietnam from Asia; and Dominican Republic, Guyana, Nicaragua, and Peru from Latin America.
The objectives of this project are:
- To develop the skills and understanding of the Global Fund and related processes on human rights, gender equality, and sexual and reproductive health services.
- To ensure that Global Fund supported projects address and include transgender issues and contribute to the UNAIDS Fast-Track targets for 2020 (especially the 90-90-90 targets on testing, treatment and viral load suppression) and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
- To strengthen the capacity of transgender people to participate in national strategic plan developments, country dialogues, concept note developments and budget allocation, and monitoring implementation of activities.
- To protect the gains made in transgender programming and supporting sustainable transition plans for transgender communities in middle-income countries and countries without generalized HIV epidemics.
- To collect strategic information and data on transgender people for evidence-based advocacy for trans-specific programming.
- To strengthen capacity of global, regional and national transgender networks including peer-to-peer knowledge sharing and coalition building for increased investment in community-led transgender programming and responses.
This project will give transgender communities in these countries the opportunity to develop links with each other and the broader set of key populations, as well as creating links with policy makers and service providers engaged in the HIV, TB and malaria responses and health systems. This project will also strengthen connections between transgender communities and the Global Fund’s Community, Rights and Gender Coordination and Communications regional platforms, hosted by APCASO in Asia and the Pacific, and CRAT VIA LIBRE in Latin America and the Caribbean.
As a community-led network, GATE is sensitive to a participatory approach so throughout this project we will ensure that all those involved are engaged, respected and have the opportunity to learn from each other’s experience and knowledge. All activities are being developed in consultation with communities and all efforts are being made to ensure that engagements with local transgender communities are culturally sensitive, including acknowledging the range of identities within local transgender communities.
GATE’s Director of Programs, Erika Castellanos, has already hosted Transition and Sustainability Workshops in the Dominican Republic (21-22 April), Nicaragua (25-26 April) and Guyana (30 April-1 May). These workshops were hosted alongside local transgender organisations: CONTRAVETD (Dominican Republic), ANIT (Nicaragua) and Guyana Trans United (Guyana). Workshops in Asia-Pacific are being organized by APTN in partnership with GATE, and were held from 14-15 May in Nepal, and 17-18 May in Vietnam.
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