Friends Africa currently provides Advocacy, Capacity Building & Education, Documentation and Technical Assistance to the following countries: Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia.
In sub-Saharan Africa where the Global Fund spends about 60% of its funds and where over 70% of the burden of the three pandemics exists, the private sector is under engaged not only in donating to the Global Fund but also in co-investing in Global Fund projects in their respective countries. On the other hand, African countries could benefit from stronger commitment from their governments to spending in health and meeting global health targets.
South-South learning which is necessary is insufficient in this region and barriers (such as funding and human resources) to effective implementation still need to be understood and tackled.
In addition, there is need to build the capacity of African grassroots NGOs and the Civil Societies that are not well aware of or involved in the Global fund processes. The gap in this sector is often reflected in the poor quality of proposals developed and projects implemented. There is also need for multiple channels of engagement in-country in the fight against the three pandemics.
Friends Africa in its mission to support the fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria strives to address these gaps through Advocacy/Fundraising, Capacity Building/Education, Documentation and provision of Technical Assistance. These activities are carried out involving the private sector, civil society and governments in Africa.