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COMPASS OVERVIEW

The Coalition to build Momentum, Power, Activism, Strategy & Solidarity in Africa (COMPASS Africa) is an audacious, data-informed transnational civil society coalition established in 2017 to strengthen the community-centred HIV response in Malawi, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Anchored by country-based coalitions and working in collaboration with regional and global partners in Africa and the United States, COMPASS combines grassroots leadership with seasoned advocacy expertise to shape national, regional, and global HIV responses. At its core, COMPASS is driven by community-led organizations, led by adolescents and young people (including AGYW), people living with HIV, key populations, and persons with disabilities. Their leadership ensures that the HIV response is not only effective but also equitable, inclusive, and sustainable.

For almost a decade, COMPASS has harnessed evidence and lived experience to drive strategic, collaborative advocacy that dismantles barriers, strengthens accountability, and secures community priorities within HIV and health responses. Through this coalition-based approach, COMPASS has helped shape policy, influence funding, and safeguard rights, contributing to a comprehensive HIV response that drives down new infections and AIDS-related deaths.

Scope of work

Pangaea Zimbabwe’s Scope of Work in COMPASS

As the Prime and Secretariat of COMPASS Africa, Pangaea Zimbabwe (PZ) plays a central role in ensuring that the coalition is effective, accountable, and sustainable. Our work cuts across technical, governance, financial, and strategic areas that keep the coalition aligned, healthy, and impactful. 

  1. Prime and Secretariat

PZ serves as the liaison between the coalition and the funder, while also managing fiduciary sub-granting to ensure transparency and accountability. We place a strong emphasis on Organisational Development Support, prioritising grant and financial management as well as broader key domains for institutional capacity strengthening. This ensures that all partners are equipped with the tools and systems needed to sustain their work and influence. 

  1. Internal Communications

Effective communication is at the heart of coalition-building. PZ ensures sound communication at every level, one-on-one with partners, within country coalitions, across regional thematic working groups, with global partners, and the entire coalition. By facilitating open, consistent, and inclusive dialogue, we create a shared sense of purpose and strengthen internal collaboration. 

  1. Coalition Health and Governance

We safeguard the vision and mission of COMPASS, ensuring that they remain relevant to evolving contexts while maintaining partner alignment and commitment. Our governance role includes facilitating decision-making, resolving conflicts, and responding to emerging issues that may affect the coalition. We also nurture partnerships—whether South-South, South-North, or in-country—and align the four thematic working groups to coalition-wide outcomes. 

  1. Strengthening Country Coalitions

COMPASS’s strength and sustainability are anchored in its country coalitions: ACT Zimbabwe, CSAF Malawi, and COMPASS Tanzania. PZ plays a key role in sustaining these coalitions and reinforcing their agency, ensuring that they remain strong, autonomous, and at the center of the movement. By strengthening these coalitions, we safeguard the foundation of COMPASS and its long-term impact. 

  1. Program Support and MERL Hub

Through our Program Support and MERL Hub, we provide strategic and technical support to partners. This includes convening strategy labs that use the Landscape Analysis for Campaign Planning Toolkit to design evidence-based advocacy campaigns. We also guide real-time tactical planning support to help partners navigate critical decision-making spaces with clarity and purpose during implementation. 

To measure and demonstrate advocacy impact, we apply innovative tools. The COMPASS Campaign Advocacy Assessment Tool (C-CAAT) helps identify outcomes along three key variables: significance, influenceability, and durability. Complementing this, the Simple Participatory Assessment of Real Change (SPARC) captures and tells the story of advocacy impact from the perspective of communities and partners themselves. Together, these tools provide a holistic picture of both the measurable outcomes and the lived experiences of change. 

In addition, we lead learning processes through case studies on best practices, insights into coalition governance, and the documentation of key lessons that shape stronger future advocacy. 

Coalition Focus Areas

1. Structural barriers to access: Many laws and policies remain outdated, restrictive, or under-implemented, creating significant obstacles to equitable access of HIV and health services. These barriers continue to disproportionately impact marginalized communities.

2. Chronic domestic underfunding of HIV and health: Heavy dependence on external donors (PEPFAR, Global Fund) threatens sustainability. Government contributions to HIV and health remain below the WHO-recommended per capita spending for our target countries and the 5% GDP allocation.

3. Official Development Assistance (ODA): Without urgency and agency, community voices are often sidelined in setting priorities for ODA. COMPASS ensures that communities are actively involved in priority-setting, governance, and accountability of ODA investments, with a particular focus on the Global Fund and PEPFAR.

4. Gap in comprehensive HIV Prevention and service delivery: gaps in behavioral, biomedical, and structural interventions still exist limiting impact. Without innovations in combination HIV prevention new infections will remain high, and prevention efforts will fall short.

5. Threats to HIV gains due to emerging pandemics, emergencies and natural disasters: At its peak, COVID-19 severely strained public health systems and disrupted HIV services. With the risk of new pandemics and other emergencies, community involvement and leadership in prevention and preparedness efforts remain insufficient, leaving critical gaps.

Results at Glance

Domestic Resource Mobilization for HIV and Health 

Through COMPASS, PZ supports partners to map financing sources, analyse budgets, track allocations, and generate demand for greater efficiency and equity in resource use. 

Zimbabwe: 

COMPASS advocacy contributed to an increase in the national health budget from 8.3% in 2018 to 12.8% in 2023. By leveraging the 3% National AIDS Trust Fund levy, COMPASS played a central role in institutionalising social contracting, enabling CSOs to access direct funding and strengthening community-led HIV responses. COMPASS is also supporting the drafting of the National Health Insurance Bill, embedding accountability and sustainability into future health financing. 

Tanzania: 

COMPASS supported reforms that grew the national health budget by 8.7% between 2019–2024, with domestic HIV funding increasing from USD 60 million to USD 88 million. The Ministry of Health adopted strategic priorities to address human resources for health (HRH), reducing the primary care HRH gap from 70% in 2023 to a projected 49% by 2025. 

Malawi: 

COMPASS advocacy influenced Parliament’s decision to increase health allocations from 9% in 2019 to 12% by 2025. The government also entrusted CSOs to lead community health financing education, marking a shift towards greater accountability and transparency. In response to USG funding disruptions, COMPASS influenced earmarking of new domestic revenues from car insurance, alcohol, and tobacco taxes for health. 

Official Development Assistance (ODA) 

COMPASS has positioned civil society as a credible and influential actor in ODA processes, particularly with PEPFAR and the Global Fund. 

Global Fund: 

COMPASS has strengthened civil society’s influence in Global Fund processes across three NFM cycles (2017–2024), shaping USD 4.41 billion in investments. By spearheading the GF CSO Charter, mentoring CSO representatives in CCMs and TWGs, and serving as a Technical Assistance partner for Anglophone Africa, COMPASS ensured that community priorities consistently informed funding requests and governance. Most recently, COMPASS supported CSOs to navigate funding deallocations and reprioritisations to safeguard community-led services, while at the GF Board, partners continue to influence replenishment priorities for GC8, disease split negotiations, and catalytic funding for domestic resource mobilization. 

PEPFAR: 

COMPASS has led civil society engagement in seven Country Operational Plan (COP) cycles (2018–2024) across three countries, influencing USD 4.895 billion in PEPFAR investments. Through the People’s COPs, communities secured critical wins in HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support. COMPASS also mentors CSOs to participate in Regional Planning Meetings and leverage community-led monitoring data to strengthen accountability and ensure investments respond to real community priorities. 

Policy and Legislation for HIV and Health 

Zimbabwe: 

In 2024, after sustained advocacy, the Global Fund CCM amended its guidelines to establish a dedicated Youth seat — a milestone win since the CCM’s inception in 2002. The Child Protection Act (2022) was amended to include clauses criminalising parents or guardians who refuse to facilitate a child’s access to health. The Medical Services Amendment Bill (2024) introduced progressive language reducing age restrictions for accessing SRH services. 

Malawi: 

COMPASS advocacy influenced policy amendments addressing drug stockouts by strengthening supply chain management and accountability. Key frameworks include the National Health Strategic Plan III (2023–2030), which improves procurement and distribution systems, and the Master Supply Chain Transformation Plan (2021–2026), which enhances forecasting, storage, and tracking of medical supplies. 

Tanzania: 

The National Health Multi-Sectoral SOPs for AYP Programming were revised to include adolescents and young people living and working on the streets. The government also finalised and endorsed the KVP Violence Prevention Framework. 

Differentiated Service Delivery (DSD), HIV Prevention & Access 

COMPASS advocacy secured the inclusion of the Community model of care in Zimbabwe’s AHD Scale-up Plan and has contributed to the expansion of AHD management coverage from 39% to 70% between 2021-2024. COMPASS has led community engagement and priority setting in health governance spaces to ensure equitable access to long-acting HIV technologies, including oral PrEP, the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring (DVR), and Cabotegravir Long-Acting (Cab LA). Piloted and scaled innovative DSD models, such as OFCAD, PrEP Squad, and CARGS. Advocated for the prioritisation of harm reduction services, ensuring that community perspectives shape national HIV prevention strategies. 

COMPASS Resources