The full participation of civil society in major stage of PEPFAR programming and planning, from their advocacy to service delivery is critical to contribute to the success and sustainability of PEPFAR and the global effort to combat HIV. It is ethically imperative that affected populations have a voice in how the programs that serve them are designed and implemented and to ensure that community and civil society engagement participate at the decision-making table commensurate with the burden of disease in a province. PEPFAR Team in DRC work both with Global Fund through the Country Coordinating Mechanism and UN organizations specifically UNAIDS and World Health Organization to broadly involve HIV/AIDS civil society organizations in its strategy. In addition to engaging implementing partners who are vital to the process, we engage smaller, local, Key Population-led civil society and community groups to gather community input and feedback. The community and the civil society organizations that are engaged in our strategy planning process are those who reflect the HIV disease burden of the DRC and the full range of populations affected by HIV.
