COLLABORATIVE STUDY ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN COUNTRY COORDINATING MECHANISMSWINS 2024 ROBERT CARR RESEARCH AWARD

For Immediate Release
July 18, 2024

ICASO and partners are pleased to announce today that the RISE (Representation, Inclusion, Sustainability, and Equity) study was selected among 30 nominated projects to receive the 2024 Robert Carr Research Award. This prestigious award is presented to research projects from community-academia partnerships with the potential to inform advocacy efforts and evidence-based programs, thereby ensuring a rights- based HIV response.

The RISE Study is an independent, community-owned research project led by a steering committee of 13 members from 11 countries that examined the engagement of communities in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM).

“The RISE Study reflects Robert’s vision of meaningful collaboration between community organizations, academic researchers, and advocates to translate findings from research into tangible policy development and advocacy efforts,” said Mary Ann Torres, executive director of ICASO. The award is named after a beloved scholar and human rights activist who championed efforts to end HIV-related stigma and discrimination. Robert was particularly passionate about the need for cross-disciplinary research to inform policy and advocacy efforts. It is this passion that ICASO, IAS – the International AIDS Society, the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC) and the Institute on Inequalities in Global Health of the University of Southern California wish to honor by presenting the Robert Carr Research Award at the International AIDS Conferences.

The RISE study gathered empirical data on the participation of communities and civil society in CCMs, which are comprised of representatives of all sectors involved in the response to the three diseases. These national committees develop and submit funding requests to the Global Fund and oversee grant-supported programs. “The findings underscore the importance of community ownership and investment in community-designed solutions to improving Global Fund grantmaking and oversight,” said Sibongile Tshabalala, the chairperson of the Treatment Action Campaign and a member of the RISE study group.

While the study affirms the vital role of CCMs in the Global Fund partnership across all stages of the funding cycle, the authors of the study identified several opportunities to enhance community engagement with CCMs and Global Fund processes. They offer seven recommendations, from making the funding process more transparent to bolstering support for peer-to-peer mentoring of community CCM representatives and removing barriers to meaningful community engagement. The final RISE report is available here (in English and French).

The group includes representatives from Aides, amfAR, Association de lutte contre sida, Coalition Plus, Malaysian AIDS Council, Ishtar MSM, MATRAM, the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Positive Generation, REVS+, SISTERS Foundation, Treatment Action Campaign, and Uganda Young Positives.

On July 24, the award will be presented at the 25th International AIDS Conference in Munich, Germany, during the Robert Carr Memorial Lecture in the Global Village, Room 2, the Messe München.

For more information about the 2024 Robert Carr Research Award, please visit the ICASO website. For more information about RISE, please visit its partner websites: amfAR, Aides, and the O’Neill Institute.