The PRAKARSA - Civil 20 (C20) Indonesia appreciates the launch Financial Intermediary Fund or Financial Intermediary Funds (FIF) by the G20 under the Indonesian Presidency. C20 hopes that this will contribute to reducing disparities in access to health care, as well as to reducing the world's vulnerability to future pandemics and improving preparedness and response to pandemics or pandemic preparedness and response (PPR).
Executive Director PRAKARSA as well as a Sherpa C20, Ah Maftuchan, in the G20 side event discussion in Bali with the theme "Redesigning Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response" conveyed the importance of involving civil society organizations in the management of FIF. On Monday (14/11/2022).
"We hope Pandemic Fund this does not apply business as usual, where the composition and role of the regulatory body is ultimately decided by the founding donors, and we are more hopeful of upholding the principles of inclusiveness and transparency within the governing body, which recognizes and values the global role of civil society organisations,” said Maftuchan.
Maftuchan further argued that so far civil society organizations have played a major role in the development process. For this reason, according to him, civil society organizations can also play a role and contribute to the Pandemic Fund in a number of ways including helping the government to prioritize policies and programs, financing, and developing standard principles and norms, besides that civil society organizations can also provide evidence from the field, generate best practices from the community, as well as monitor and provide recommendations for improvement of policies and programs.
“We strongly recommend that the governance of the Pandemic Fund should perpetuate the principles of inclusivity, diversity and meaningful engagement from communities and civil society that do not just tokenistic and treating communities and civil society as mere observers,” added Maftuchan.
Maftuchan said that the Pandemic Fund must learn from the experience of civil society involvement in previous global initiatives such as the Global Fund, GAVI, and the Stop TB Partnership. In this multi-stakeholder partnership, said Maftuchan, civil society organizations contribute in holding governments to account, providing services and technical assistance, driving change, and translating policies into practice.
“This strategic and meaningful engagement can be achieved when the rules for including civil society constituents are formalized. The involvement of civil society organizations in the Pandemic Fund is a new standard. Their involvement can increase efficiency, innovation, accountability, and build a sense of ownership in the planning process to the implementation of financing programs," said Maftuchan.
On this occasion other speakers were also present including the Executive Head of the Pandemic Fund Secretariat The World Bank Priya Basu, Director for Global Health Diplomacy Joep Lange Institute Christoph Benn, and Founder and CEO Center for Indonesia's Strategic Development Initiatives (CISDI) Diah S. Saminarsih.
