Civil society is key to India's national AIDS programme
24 November 2005
Civil society is emerging as an important partner of the Indian government in shaping an effective response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This central role was confirmed at a national-level consultative meeting from 14–15 October in India, organised by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in India and India’s National AIDS Control Organisation.
The consultation was held so that civil society could review the framework of the third phase of India’s National AIDS Control Programme (NACP III), identify gaps in the design process and make recommendations. Dr S Y Quaraishi of the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) said that civil society is to have the ‘main implementing role’ in NACP III, with the government as facilitator.
This third phase has been designed to develop a single mechanism for AIDS co-ordination, one national AIDS strategy, and one monitoring and evaluation framework for AIDS responses – principles that UNAIDS calls the ‘Three Ones’. A massive planning exercise has involved consultation with a wide cross-section of stakeholders to promote partnership working and increase their sense of ownership.
Civil society organisations are critical to India’s prevention and care and support responses, and getting them involved in the consultative process is essential to scaling up India’s response to the epidemic. In his keynote address, Mr P K Hota from the government said that the participation of civil society is ‘very valued’. He added, ‘We are involved in a dynamic framework with civil society as co-partners in implementation.’
The meeting, organised by the India HIV/AIDS Alliance and NACO, and supported by the Resource Centre for Sexual Health and AIDS, explored how dialogue between government and civil society can be strengthened so that their role will be ongoing. Dr J V R Prasad Rao of UNAIDS spoke in support of strategic partnerships, urging the consultation to develop a representative body of civil society that can work in partnership with government.
The consultation emphasised that:
- Prevention will only work among marginalised populations if there are support systems in place at State AIDS Control Society level. Key populations must be targeted as distinct from the general population to make sure that everyone has access to prevention, with the rural epidemic particularly addressed in prevention planning.
- Care and support includes treatment, and universal access to treatment should be the overall aim. Civil society groups that can deliver antiretroviral treatment must be included in the programme.
- Systems for capacity building need to emerge from NACO and become ingrained in the State AIDS Control Societies’ response. Capacity building initiatives must become needs based and forward looking.
- Monitoring and evaluation should be participatory, with a community-friendly approach to prevention and care and support. It should prioritise only data essential to programme development.
- Management and governance should reflect the principle of partnership and be closely observed at local and national level, with mechanisms in place to enforce accountability. Governance structures and systems should include key populations. And funding and support mechanisms for civil society needs to be strengthened and made more systematic.
Dr Sunita Singh of the World Bank said that civil society has an ‘integral part to play in the development of nations’ and should co-ordinate efforts between civil society organisations, networks of people living with HIV/AIDS and non-governmental organisations so they can have ‘a greater voice and establish their place in the international scenario’.
The consultation has made it clear that civil society organisations are committed to continuing their participation in the planning and implementation of NACP III. A newly formed committee will plan how to structure this involvement, including developing a representative body of civil society at all levels.
Read the draft report on the outcomes of this consultation.
