Evidence and Collaboration for Inclusive Development (ECID)

ecid update, may 2021

It is with great regret that we announce the premature closure of the ECID programme due to the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) financial constraints.

Over the last 2.5 years, it has been an enormous privilege to work with marginalised communities to create change and we are deeply saddened that we cannot complete the work we started.

Over the weeks and months ahead we will continue to share the evidence entrusted to us and find opportunities to advocate for improved access to services.

We stand in solidarity with the many other impactful programmes also affected by the FCDO decisions.

The Evidence and Collaboration for Inclusive Development (ECID) programme aims to contribute to poverty reduction, the realisation of rights and improved wellbeing of over three million people. It has a focus on the most marginalised people, including women and girls, LGBTI people, ethnic minorities and people living with HIV.

COVID-19 update

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to escalate, the ECID programme is more important than ever. We continue to work for the most marginalised people to have access to appropriate, accessible services, especially in this time of crisis. Find out more: www.evidenceforinclusion.org

what we aim to achieve

ECID is run by a consortium of partners. Together we aim:

1. To improve access to services and participation in decision-making processes for key target groups
2. To increase the effectiveness of civil society and other actors at all levels to address the priorities of key target groups
3. To create greater accountability and responsiveness among power holders to act on the priorities of key target groups, from the local to global level.

how we do it

Together, we work with grassroots organisations and community-based organisations (CBOs) to build the capacity of marginalised groups to generate and present data about themselves and their experience of interacting with both civil society and duty bearers.

Data sets are being developed in Myanmar, Nigeria and Zimbabwe which will be used to draw comparisons between community-gathered and institutionally generated
data. Presenting the richness of the community evidence, particularly that from the most marginalised, will be a key driver of the programme.

This community evidence, incorporated into the data platforms, will be a key resource, helping to foster collaboration between actors within communities, civil society and duty bearers and act as a robust evidence base to strengthen civil society effectiveness across all three countries.

What Frontline AIDS does

We are working on embedding the Looking In, Looking Out (LILO) methodology into the gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) strategy developed for the consortia by Social Development Direct (SDD). LILO aims to help individuals see beyond a person’s ‘group’ or ‘status’ (gender; ethnicity; disability; health status (i.e. HIV+); sexual orientation; age; etc) and any negative connotations that come with them i.e. homophobia.

LILO is a facilitated workshop that aims to achieve attitude change. The assumption underpinning LILO is that to be truly effective in working with and on behalf of people who are excluded, stigmatised and sometimes criminalised, individuals and organisations address their conscious and unconscious biases towards these individuals and communities.

The LILO methodology was developed by Frontline AIDS’ Namibian partner Positive Vibes.

consortium partners

Christian Aid, FEMNET, GNDR, Ipsos MORI, On Our Radar, Open University, Social Development Direct (SDD) and Womankind.

This project is funded with UK aid from the UK government:

Photo caption:

“As a transgender woman, you live with many challenges. I am HIV+. My husband doesn’t work and without opportunities as a MSM, I work as a sex worker to support us. We live in a community with other sex workers but there are no health clinics which I can go to close to where I live in order for me to get my medication and SRHR support. There is one clinic close to me but I won’t go to it because of how they treat me. The government hospitals are even worse. You queue for hours, even if you were the first to arrive – because of who are. The doctors won’t even examine us, just prescribing the treatment without checking us over. Because of this, I rely on an NGO for services – that’s where I first tested – I knew what the results would be. The thing that scares me most is that my husband will leave me and I will have to do this alone.”

MSM and sex workers affected by HIV often face double discrimination. They are a hidden group, often isolated from their communities and families.

MSM and sex workers are human who have the right to health services too. Friendly HIV and SRHR services which provide long-term health care plan must be provided.

© EMK 2018 | PhotoVoice | Frontline AIDS | PITCH | Myanmar