Daily Highlights

@ C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 2 Solange Baptiste speaking at the CLM Pre-Conference at AIDS2024 in Munich 2024.07.21 Sunday @itpcglobal Celebrating CLM as a Means to Lasting Change CLM Success Stories from Eastern Europe CLM PRE-CONFERENCE Solange Baptiste reminds us that affected communities are an integral part of civil society and they are the people carrying out CLM. [...] Funding for HIV will shrink dramatically and CLM offers a practical way to continue impactful health interventions cost-effectively. [...] Then comes community-driven policy advocacy, with community groups gathering evidence to influence public policy, for example, advocacy groups conducting surveys and collecting testimonies to push for better healthcare policies for marginalized groups. Defining CLM CLM is a process where communities take the lead to routinely monitor issues that matter to them. [...] Spotlight on access to Dolutegravir There have been numerous CLM interventions in the EECA region to monitor the patent status, licensing agreements and public procurement of key drugs for the treatment of HIV with a focus on upper-middle-income countries. There were interventions during the tender process, resulting in a price reduction for DTG in Belarus and Kazakhstan from USD 100 to USD 50 in [...] The price for DTG in Russia has also dropped by more than half since 2019 while the number of people on DTG in Russia has increased from 30,000 to 140,000. [...] Loon Gangte emphasized the importance of direct funding to community organizations and data that represents community experiences to inform decision-making and ensure accountability. [...] He highlighted the importance of involving communities in the monitoring process to ensure that their voices are heard and their needs are met. [...] Communities most affected by an issue should have the resources to influence decisions that affect them so they can contribute data and solutions to common issues and can’t be ignored. [...] We have real-world examples of this – community-based organizations were the first to deliver at-home treatment to people living with HIV during the early days of the COVID- 19 pandemic and they successfully pushed for multi-month dispensing. [...] Secondly, when the political and social context is unfavorable, instead of losing ground, we must build alliances with women’s organizations and other human rights networks to advocate for broad anti-discrimination laws and policies that can unite different people suffering from discrimination and injustice, rather than dividing them.