Principles for Lesotho Country Coordinating Mechanism
The following principles shall guide the activities of Lesotho Country coordinating mechanisms.
Partnership
CCMs should (a) be effective fora for bringing together key stakeholders; (b) seek active engagement in their national context, with balanced and well-qualified representation across geographies, genders, expertise, sectors, and other factors as appropriate; and (c) ensure effective representation and the flow of information to and from the CCM members and constituencies. See Annex 1 for guidelines on CCM constituency representation.
Engagement of key populations
People living with or affected by diseases and civil society. Each CCM should establish a mechanism to engage key populations, people living with or affected by diseases and civil society in a way that allows their input and voices to be heard. Such engagement should continue throughout the grant lifecycle to provide input to strengthen the delivery of programs and achievement of targets.
Oversight
CCMs should oversee the performance of the PRs to ensure that agreed targets are met. Through transparent CCM oversight, PRs are held accountable to all country stakeholders. CCMs should regularly review performance of grants in collaboration with the PRs, and bring together all the necessary stakeholders, including Global Fund Secretariat staff. CCMs should oversee grants, support PRs to address risks and bottlenecks and initiate the replacement of consistently poorly performing PRs. Effective oversight efforts should drive improvements in grant performance in support of national programs.
Building on national structures
CCMs should be at the highest level responsible for multipartner and multi-sectoral development planning in a country. In a majority of countries, an existing mechanism could fulfil the CCM functions. Where this is not the case, the CCM should make efforts to proactively coordinate activities with the other mechanisms. Any structure fulfilling the CCM role should meet the Eligibility Requirements.
Sustainability and transition
CCMs play an important role in encouraging countries to implement sustainable programs and supporting transition preparedness. Aligned with principles set forth in The Global Fund’s Sustainability, Transition and Co-financing (STC) Policy and Guidance Note on the Sustainability, Transition, and Co-Financing of Programs Supported by the Global Fund, CCMs should work with countries to strengthen the sustainability of the Global Fund financed programs and prepare for transition towards domestic financing. Planning for sustainability is an integral part of program design and should be taken into account by CCMs when developing funding requests regardless of where they are on the development continuum and regardless of economic status. Successful transitions take time, and therefore CCMs should encourage early and proactive transition and sustainability planning among partners and with the government even multiple allocation cycles prior to transition from Global Fund financing.
Good governance
CCMs and CCM Secretariats are expected to operate in a way that is aligned with principles of good governance, including transparency of information, equality among members, accountability, and conflict of interest management. Transparency depends on the timely, equal and comprehensive sharing of information. Equality among members requires that all members of a CCM are equal partners, with full rights to expression and involvement in decision-making in line with their areas of expertise. Accountability means that CCMs should hold CCM members, CCM leadership and CCM Secretariat accountable for good performance. Conflict of interest should be managed in such a way that decisions made are objective and credible.
Differentiation
CCMs operate in different contexts which may requires tailored approach and different performance expectations for what CCMs should achieve. For example, CCMs for countries approaching transition from GF funding may need to focus on different activities and be measured in a different way than CCMs based in challenging operating environments. To be aligned with the Global Fund strategy, expectations of CCMs should be differentiated to support stronger strategic engagement by the Global Fund and partners and sets appropriate requirements or performance standards for different types of CCMs.