From the 5th to the 7th of July the East African and Indian Ocean Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM) of Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, met in Crown Plaza Hotel, Nairobi for a regional Workshop that aimed to present the new Global Fund strategies and its impacts in their grants lifecycles and the responsibilities of the CCMs. The workshop was attended by Eastern Africa and Indian Ocean National Focal Points. Ibrahim from Comoros, Enoch from Uganda and Guffran from Mauritius represented youth in the region in this CCM workshop and were later joined by Job from Kenya and East African Regional Focal Point Yvonne.

The 3 day workshop was organized by the Global Funds CCM Team to discuss about issues and new guidelines of eligibility concerning grants of Global Fund, amongst others.

Objectives of the workshop were:

• Provide guidance on, and discuss the CCMs role throughout the grant life cycle.
• Introduce the New CCM Guidelines approved by the Global Fund Board in May 2011.
• Strengthen CCM understanding of oversight.
• Strengthen processes to effectively mobilize country stakeholders, in particular Non-Governmental sectors participation in the CCMs (including civil society and private constituencies).
• Exchange country experiences and promote good practices of CCMs within the region.
• Scope out possible implications on future CCM work through dialogue with the CCM members about Global Funds new strategic framework, reform agenda, grant architecture, CCM Funding, CCM performance and other recent developments.
• Enhance compliance with the Global Fund Board requirements.
• Define priority areas for CCM technical support.

GYCAs East African and Indian Ocean National Focal Points and Regional Focal Point later met to deliberate on strengthening GYCA’s initiatives in the region and their involvement in decision-making and participation in the Country Coordinating Mechanism of their respective countries.