Building on the successes and recommendations of previous Regional Meetings in MENA, the objectives of the 5th MENA Regional Meeting which was held in Tunis, Tunisia on 3-6 December 2007 were:

• Enhancing the understanding of Global Fund processes and its evolving architecture among countries of the region.
• Empowering CCMs to improve their role and function in the oversight of grant implementation.
• Engaging private sector in the work of CCMs in the region.
• Providing an opportunity for participants to share experiences and lessons learnt

At the Global Fund’s Fourth Regional Meeting for MENA, which took place in Sana’a, in December 2006, a large number of ministers and other distinguished personalities from the region recommended a follow up meeting to focus on the engagement of private sector in Global Fund programs as well as to the creation of “Friends of the Global Fund Middle East and North Africa”. Thus the main purpose of the 2007 advocacy session was to pursue this recommendation by bringing together leaders, from both the private and public sectors across the region, to advocate on behalf of the Global Fund in the region and contribute to the global fight against the three diseases. With a view to mobilizing broader political commitment and public support in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, the Global Fund has already supported the creation of four partner organizations worldwide – “Friends of the Global Fight” in the United States, “Friends of the Global Fund, Japan”, “Friends of the Global Fund Europe”, and “Friends Africa”. Each “Friends” organization is an independent association, with its own operating budget and board of directors; it engages with the Global Fund in the struggle against these diseases, either on a national, regional or worldwide level.