HIV in Senegal: People living with the virus are mobilizing to secure funding for 2027-2029

With the goal of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030, people living with HIV in Senegal are actively preparing the process of submitting a funding request for the period 2027-2029. The objective is to ensure that community priorities are taken into account in future investments dedicated to the fight against HIV.

The funding application for the eighth round of the Global Fund (GC8) is being prepared, and the National Network of Associations of People Living with HIV in Senegal (RNP+) has met to prepare its contribution. RNP+ intends to influence the direction of the upcoming country report, ensuring that community priorities are not relegated to a secondary role.

A meeting intended to ensure that the needs of people living with HIV, vulnerable populations and affected communities are fully taken into account in the country note for the period 2027-2029.

The president of RNP+, Soukeye Ndiaye, recalled that this initiative is part of the ongoing dialogue within the country regarding the preparation of the funding request for the period 2027-2029.

"True to its mission of monitoring and defending the interests of people living with HIV, affected people and other vulnerable groups, RNP+ has, thanks to the support of Coalition PLUS, initiated a critical review meeting of the Global Fund's funding request," she explained.

The goal is to verify the extent to which the future application effectively takes into account the concerns and aspirations of the communities. For Soukeye Ndiaye, this notably involves ensuring that the network's priorities contribute to the ambition of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030.

For this exercise, community leaders were brought in to scrutinize the proposal in light of the needs expressed by their members. The objective is to compare the programmatic guidelines with the realities experienced on the ground and to identify any potential shortcomings.

Beyond simply identifying needs, participants are asked to examine the coherence between the identified problems, the objectives pursued, the proposed interventions, the activities, the expected results, and the indicators. The operational and financial feasibility of the planned actions will also be reviewed.

Particular attention will be paid to human rights, gender, stigma, discrimination, and equitable access to health services. These are all dimensions that the RNP+ hopes to see more fully integrated into interventions for people living with HIV and vulnerable populations.

At the end of the work, the network aims to have a consolidated proposal, accompanied by observations and recommendations, as well as a roadmap for its finalization and transmission to the competent authorities.

The president of RNP+ also expressed her gratitude to Coalition PLUS for its constant support of community organizations, particularly in strengthening their participation in the country dialogue and promoting strong and recognized community leadership in the HIV response.