Monrovia – The Liberia Coordinating Mechanism (LCM) of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (TGF), March 7, 2018 elected Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe and Mr. Johnson Hinneh of the Liberia Bar Association (LBA) and Ministry of Education respectively to serve as Chair and second Vice Chair of the multi-sectorial organization until July 2018, thus completing the tenure of the current leadership.
The two are to join hands with Sister Barbara Brillant of the Catholic who currently serves as first Vice Chair of the LCM.
The by-elections were held in the conference room of the Corina Hotel in Monrovia, during the LCM first quarterly meeting for this year, 2018.
The elections which coincided with the LCM regular meeting, brought together 23 of the 27 members. The adhoc elections committee was chaired by Dr. Miriam Chipimo of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS).
Both Cllr. Gongloe and Hinneh who represent private/for profit sector and government constituencies were elected unopposed during the by-elections.
Marking a presentation on the procedures of the by-elections, Mrs. Paulina Doe Hilton, Head of Secretariat of the LCM noted that the two vacancies in the LCM leadership were created due to the replacement of Mr. Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah, Sr. by his constituency, the Liberia Business Association (LIBA) and the transition in government, thus affecting Dr. Ivan Camanor of the National AIDS Commission (NAC) who were serving on the LCM as Chair and second Vice Chair, respectively.
In a remark, Cllr. Gongloe thanked the members of the LCM for electing him as Chair, and Mr. Hinneh as second Vice Chair.
He assured that august body of his fullest commitment to work with all in the best interest of the country. Cllr. Gongloe had previously severed the LCM from 2013 to 2015 as second Vice Chair.
The LCM is known globally as Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM). It is a national body that submits funding applications to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria on behalf of the country.
Members of the LCM include representatives of all sectors involved in the response to the diseases: multilateral and bilateral agencies, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, faith-based organization, the private sector and – especially – people living with the diseases.
Established in 2006, the LCM is also responsible to select organizations to serve as Principal Recipients (PRs) for the implementation of the Global Fund grant.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) currently serves as the sole PR for the Tuberculosis grant; while it manages the malaria grant with Plan International and the HIV grant with Population Services International (PSI).
Report by Y. Solomon W. Watkins, [email protected]