Advocacy groups are raising alarms that changes to the country's planning process for PEPFAR, the U.S. government’s flagship HIV program, could result in a diminished role for civil society.
The issues have arisen during the midpoint review of PEPFAR’s country operational plans — or COPs — the signature planning process that guides the implementation of activities to prevent and treat a disease that still kills more than half a million people every year.
Civil society groups typically play a key role in advocating for programs to support vulnerable “key populations” at a time when many face growing threats of criminalization and stigma from governments in HIV-affected countries.