In celebration of the Global Fund’s 20th anniversary, GFAN Africa is organising a torch caravan across twenty countries from July to December 2021. The torch will begin its journey in Cape Town, South Africa, and travel to Cairo, Egypt by December, before returning to South Africa at the ICASA conference. During the journey, it will travel through four regions. Each region will have one month to pass the torch from one country to another within its borders.

The twenty participating countries are– South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi, DRC, Niger, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. In addition, the torch caravan will include representatives from HIV, TB, Malaria, civil society, and communities.

As part of the caravan, a torch will be lit to commemorate lives saved. During the launch of the torch in July 2021 in South Africa, the torch was handed over to Zimbabwe via a virtual meeting. Countries will celebrate this event through virtual or hybrid events and determine whether to hold events in person or online based on their COVID-19 restrictions.

The Torch Caravan brings together governments, civil society organisations, and communities across Africa to acknowledge the importance of the life-saving investments made by the Global Fund over the last 20 years.