RESULTS works with AusAID to tackle diseases of poverty

LAST week RESULTS had the ear of the Executive Director of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), Mr. Peter Baxter.

Maree Nutt and Rachel Achterstraat from RESULTS, along with Rob Lake, Executive Director of the Australian Federation for AIDS Organisations, met with Peter Baxter in Canberra to talk Global Fund and TB-HIV.

The meeting began with an energetic debate on Australia’s commitments to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. The Global Fund is one of the world’s most successful instruments in the fight against the diseases of poverty. This was noted in our discussions and also reflected in the Australian Multilateral Assessment of the Fund (release April 2012), in which it was ranked strongly on impact but below average on some aspects of organizational behavior.

Since the Assessment was performed, the Global Fund has made significant progress in its reforms. Over coming months RESULTS will be keen to monitor and promote further progress with its members and their Parliamentarians to enable future Australian funding for the Global Fund to increase with renewed confidence.

Also raised in discussions was an issue very close to RESULTS heart – that of tuberculosis (TB). RESULTS volunteers have worked for years to raise the profile of TB amongst Australian and international decision makers – a disease that all in the meeting agreed was a major concern in our region and which required greater attention.

Acknowledging the efforts of RESULTS members to speak on behalf of people suffering from TB, Mr. Baxter suggested that we work together to further shine the light on this often overlooked disease.

An area for further discussion was the concept of a regional stakeholder meeting on tuberculosis in 2013. RESULTS would welcome working with AusAID on any initiative that has the potential to raise the profile of the disease and improve outcomes for people living with or at risk of contracting TB especially in the Asia Pacific region.

With the need to appoint a new Australian AIDS Ambassador in the near future, RESULTS may also look to support the broadening of this role to encompass both TB and Malaria. This would further demonstrate recognition of the combined impact these diseases on people living in poverty and their significance in Australia’s aid efforts.

Well done to our RESULTS members for your passion and determination to speak on behalf of the families, individuals and communities who needlessly battle against TB each day. Your advocacy over the years is inspirational in meetings such as these.