DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NGOs, KVP & COMMUNITIES HOLD THREE DAYS STOP TB PARTNERSHIP RETREAT IN AKWA, NIGERIA

The Strategy meeting for NGOs, KVP and Communities took place at the Best Western Meloch Hotel in Awka, the central business city of Anambra State. The retreat took place from the 6^th to 8^th April, 2024 and brought together members of three delegations to the Stop TB Partnership namely, Affected Communities, Key & Vulnerable Populations (KVP) and the Developing Country NGOs.

Opening and Welcome Address

The three-day retreat was opened with a welcome address from Mayowa Joel, from NTP Nigeria and also a board member for the Developing Country NGOs. His speech was laced with some necessary security precautions obligatory for the safety of participants to ensure an incidence free program. Mayowa Joel went further to spell out the objectives and purpose of the three days retreat.

Solidarity Messages from other Board Members

Followed closely on the heels of his presentation was solidarity messages from leadership and board members of the three groups welcoming their respective representatives to the meeting.

Key note Address by Dr. Lucica Ditiu

Participants had the opportunity to listen to a recorded key note address from the Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership in which she expressed the expectations of the Stop TB Partnership for the meeting and wished members a fruitful deliberation.

Plenary Sessions

They were two plenary sessions to discuss agenda items of common interest to all participants and to take presentations from some professionals from the Stop TB Partnership, Civil Society and the Global Fund as summarized below.

Presentations from the Global Fund, Civil Society and Stop TB Partnership

Dr. Suvanand Sahu gave a virtual presentation on behalf of Stop TB on Ending TB: An update on

• State of the epidemic
• Progress so far
• Tools developed by stop TB Partnership and
• Gaps and needs

Presentation by Dr Eliud Wandwalo, Head of TB at the Global.

Dr. Eliud Wandwalo also gave a virtual presentation to the plenary which was centered around the understated key areas

• Key steps of the GC7 allocation methodology
• Funding streams of the Global Fund from 2023-2025
• Major changes since the last allocation review
• Global Fund TB allocations (GC5-GC7)

Presentation by Linda Mafu -Head, Political & Civil Society Advocacy Department

The final presentation to the plenary was done which centered on the Global Fund 7^th replenishment and 8R planning updates. The presentation centered on

• Update on pledge conversion
• Drivers of strategic approach to 8R
• 2024 priorities – building on 7R lessons learned
• 8^th replenishment action plan
• Donor engagement strategies
• Next steps

Discussion with Civil Society from Anambra State

The plenary session also witnessed a discussion with some civil society groups drawn from the Anambra State to understand their workings, opportunities, challenges, best practices and successes chalked in the fight against tuberculosis.

Key Outcomes of Plenary Sessions

• Increased intra-group coordination among the three delegations
• Refine understanding of presentations and group tasks through discussions and explanation
• Instance feedback on topics discussed that fosters comprehension
• Shared use of scarce resources to save overheads
• Discussion on the development of common statement for the retreat.

Individual Sessions

There were also individual sessions that enabled each delegation to discuss their respective agenda items that were peculiar to them as captured in their respective workplans.

Developing NGOs Sessions

MEMBERS PRESENT

Key Outcomes on Developing Countries NGOs Session

• Finalized report on 37^th Stop TB Board meeting in Brazil
• Updated work plan to guide activities going forward
• Developed call advertisement for new membership
• Developed activity reporting template for harmonization of members activities
• Developed Governance and Communication manual