Advocacy

The NCC intends to address the following perennial issues that have hampered the provision and sustainability of NGO services in Guyana as discussed in its Advocacy Plan.

The 2006 Revised National Policy Document on HIV/AIDS in Guyana and HIVision 2020: Guyana’s National HIV Strategic Plan (2013-2020) confirm that all should be able to access HIV services in an equitable and non-discriminatory environment without regard to anyone’s gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status or other demographic characteristics. While these policies are commendable, marginalised and vulnerable groups continue to face extensive barriers to receiving treatment and gathering information about their sexual health and HIV status. In the healthcare setting, laws that criminalise certain behaviours such as same sex intercourse, public solicitation and cross-dressing fuel the stigma and discrimination which already exists and drives these vulnerable groups away from the public health interventions aimed at HIV prevention; thereby, adversely affecting the potential for these groups to attain the highest standard of health.

In achieving the goal of non-discriminatory access to health services for key populations, it is envisioned that the NCC’s advocacy campaign will address two distinct dimensions: the awareness and implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Guidelines & Protocols in health care institutions along with behavioural change and the reduction of self-stigma among members of the key populations, making them more informed and responsible for accessing health services.

Reformation of the tax regime will see explicit allowances for exemptions from certain taxes by NGOS along with tax relief for both individuals and companies who make donations for any charitable, social or public purpose. It will be stressed that such contributions would enhance the ability of NGOs to continue the implementation of their programmes and even lessen reliance on the State and international organisations for financial support. The advantage of legislative regularisation of fund-raising is that NGOs would have to publicly declare the sources of their funding and for what purposes the financing is to be applied.

Government should be engaged on the basis of Article 13 of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana which emerged out of a process that sought to realise the potential and value of having civic participation at the highest levels of policymaking. This should be a systematic process of deliberations with NGOs who are acknowledged as more than conduits to deliver services, but act as watchdogs that can influence the debate and thereby have a legitimate expectation that their views, concerns and recommendations would be adequately accounted for when deciding how to confront any national challenges.

As part of this participatory process, the NCC will endorse the publication of guidelines for Government subsidies and contributions to NGOs in an effort to ensure greater transparency and accountability in the disbursement of public funds.

Many NGOs have unstructured private sector arrangements through which they seek funding and support for their activities. Apart from the few who have established partnerships with companies, many NGOs in Guyana unfortunately adopt a haphazard approach when seeking charitable contributions which at times may not necessarily produce a response from the singled out enterprises who are often bombarded with requests for donations and usually have already earmarked their financial resources. NGOs have admitted that they were unpractised to instigating and maintaining durable relationships with private sector organisations who in turn have disclosed that they were unaware of the work that many NGOs were undertaking. As part of its advocacy initiatives, the NCC will seek to remedy this status quo by formalising these irregular networks using mediums such as memoranda of understanding, contracts, and letters of agreement; viewed as initial steps to professionalising fundraising by NGOs.

NCC will also promote the idea that the Private Sector, though focused on markets and profits, can support the work of its NGOs members. By pointing to a business entity’s role not simply as an investment participant but as a contributor to Guyana’s social development, transforms that entity into a corporate citizen that has a responsibility to act in the interests and welfare of its society; which seamlessly coalesces with the raison d’être of the majority of NGOs. The NCC will use this idea of corporate social responsibility as a springboard to foster, maintain and strengthen partnerships which can yield rewards that benefit both the private sector and the NGO community.

A central component of the Global Fund financial management system is the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) which is the administrator tasked with ensuring that activities are implemented and resources are used as specified in the grant agreement. Besides responsibility for governance and oversight, a particular trait of CCM is the involvement of a dynamic, broadly representative and robust civil society which can efficiently ensure accountability, monitor compliance and reinforce governance standards. As a nationally owned and consensually driven process, non-governmental representatives must be selected by their constituencies through a documented and transparent process using clear criteria and relevant experience. The types of NGO representation preferred include watchdog organisations, key affected populations, women’s organisations, children and young people, charitable organisations.

The Guyana CCM was formed in 2002 and includes representation from NGOs, private sector and the targeted communities. Although it is accepted that there is sufficient NGO representation on Guyana’s CCM, some delegates have argued that they do not participate integrally in its policies and proposals formulation. Generally, some of the challenges to NGO participation in the CCM in Guyana include ignorance or misinterpretation of the systems and procedures employed by Global Fund and the CCM, inability to access information related to policies and programs held by the government and no formal method of communication with stakeholders.

Therefore, the NCC will assert that NGOs play more than an ostensible role on the Guyana CCM by bolstering their access to resources and information through removing complications that handicap their ability to actively participate in decisions concerning grant proposals, selection of sub-recipients and monitoring of projects.