APCASO BACKUP Health Project
CSO and KP representing CCM Pakistan, CCM Srilanka, CCM Papua New Guinea and CCM Nepal gathered together to learn and share their working experience for CS engagement. The learning visit was held in Kathmandu, Nepal from 19th to 21st November 2019.
The event was facilitated by Ms. Mangala Namasivayam from APCASO. There was delightful presence of Ms. Jennifer Ho, Deputy Director and Ms. RD Marte, Executive Director of APCASO.
Day 1:
All the country representatives shared about their CCM working at their respective countries. There was discussion among participants about the BACKUP Health Project undergoing through support of APCASO, working modalities of CCM, spaces provided to the KP/CS representatives.
Representatives from FHI 360 and Principal Recipient (Save the Children) shared the information on LINKAGES project in Nepal and Global Fund grants implementation respectively. Mr. Sandesh Neupane, CCM Coordinator presented about CCM Nepal.
In the evening, all the CCMs representing participants including some government stakeholders and bilateral and multilateral representatives of Nepal gathered together for a dinner. Mr. Mahendra Prasad Shrestha (Executive Committee Member and Chair of Oversight Committee, CCM Nepal and Chief of Health Coordination Division, MoHP) chaired the dinner meeting. He welcomed all the participants and shared his experience of working for health system strengthening in Nepal.
Day 2: The participants visited two NGOs namely Society for Women Awareness Nepal (SWAN) and SPARSHA Nepal with an objective to acquire the holistic understanding of the working modalities of such organizations explore about the current response from Nepal NGOs for Key Population and people living and affected with diseases.
During the visit to Nari Chetana Samaj, the project officer gave the glimpse about the LINKAGES project undergoing with support of FHI 360. The participants also got to know about the strategies and model which has been rolling on for reaching KPs for index testing and counseling.
Likewise, during the visit to SPARSHA, the senior project manager presented about overall program undergoing in SPARSHA in HIV, TB, comorbidity and harm reduction.
Day 3: The participants reflected upon the day 1 and day 2 and made a comparison about the current responses in Nepal and explained about the gaps present in their respective countries.
Furthermore, representatives from five national networks presenting KP (Recovering Nepal, Nepalese Migrant Network, Jagriti Mahila Maha Sangh, National Federation of Women living with HIV/AIDS and Federation of Sexuality and Gender Minorities of Nepal) shared the updates about the consultation meeting conducted with financial support of APCASO to engage each constituency.
The representatives from government entities namely: Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, National Tuberculosis Center and National Center for AIDS and STD Control shared about the current responses to three diseases (HIV, TB, Malaria).
Closing remarks: Each participant from respective countries expressed that they were able to acquire informative knowledge on Nepal responses to three diseases. They internalized the importance of knowledge sharing and mentioned about collaborative learning. They expressed that- as a component of the Backup Health Project implementation strategy, Nepal has been identified as the destination for a learning visit. Nepal has an active and dynamic engagement of the KP and CBO in Nepal’s Global Fund Grants and positive partnerships with Nepal’s CCM, relevant government offices, and technical assistance agencies. The program was formally closed with closing remarks from Ms. RD Marte and Mr. Achut Sitoula, Vice-Chair of CCM Nepal.
