One of the topics in the meeting was a discussion about reconsidering the eligibility of criteria for financing by the GFATM. Such a change would result in new funding opportunities for a number of countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. While the board deliberated on this issue, more than 600 activists from Serbia and Bulgaria chose the occasion to protest and to hand an open letter to the Executive Director in favor of such changes and to highlight the importance of increasing funding to the region in the world that currently has the most rapidly expanding HIV epidemic.

One of the topics in the meeting was a discussion about reconsidering the eligibility of criteria for financing by the GFATM. Such a change would result in new funding opportunities for a number of countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. While the board deliberated on this issue, more than 600 activists from Serbia and Bulgaria chose the occasion to protest and to hand an open letter to the Executive Director in favor of such changes and to highlight the importance of increasing funding to the region in the world that currently has the most rapidly expanding HIV epidemic. Video of the demonstration and of discussions between activists and the Global Fund board can be found at the following link (in English).

Leading up to the Global Found meeting, board members made site visits in Georgia, Ukraine and Bulgaria. One of these visits was hosted by HESED, Sofia – an NGO working with sex workers. During two evenings, 12 representatives of the Global Found observed and participated in outdoor and indoor outreach work with sex workers and got a first-hand look at the specific issues faced by this vulnerable group in Bulgaria.