Senegalese intervention paves way for success in HIV/AIDS programmes
6 December 2007 – for immediate release
Active participation by civil society organisations in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Senegal has led to this West Africa country boasting once of the lowest HIV prevalence rates in sub-Saharan Africa. It has also been praised for having one of the most successful responses to HIV among low and middle-income countries.
This case study (see related resources, right) is one of the many being presented at the Civil Society, HIV/AIDS and Africa: capacity, sustainability, partnerships conference being held in Johannesburg, South Africa from December 5 to 7.
The meeting is co-hosted by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance and the UK Government’s Department for International Development, and co-organised by UNAIDS and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
Representatives from civil society organisations, government and donors from across the globe are gathering to share and learn of others' experiences in building capacity to combat the pandemic.
The turnaround in the effectiveness of Senegal's HIV/AIDS programmes was sparked in 2003 with the creation of the Watchdog of the Response to HIV/AIDS in Senegal (Observatoire de la Reponse au VIH/SIDA au Sénégal) by civil society organisations.
The International HIV/AIDS Alliance's local partner Alliance Nationale Contre le SIDA (ANCS) was a founding partner and later proved instrumental in securing continued support from the Global Fund.
While the early stages of the country's HIV/AIDS programmes benefited from political leadership, strong civil society involvement, targeted prevention efforts and a pioneering programme for antiretroviral treatment, it became apparent that the lack of a national strategy and the marginalisation of civil society were hampering progress.
The country received significant new funds in 2002 from the Global Fund and the World Bank’s Multi-Country HIV/AIDS Programme for Africa.
But, by April 2005 the board of the Global Fund had become sufficiently concerned about the country's response that it threatened to withdraw its grant unless problems with its disbursement were addressed. At the same time, the World Bank also demanded changes to how its programmes were implemented and its funds disbursed.
It was through the leading contribution to negotiations with the Global Fund that the Observatoire succeeded in re-securing the country’s $6-million grant.
ANCS was appointed by the Global Fund as a Principal Recipient of the civil society component, through which many of the programmes are funded
The Observatoire has been central to forging strong relationships between government and civil society, while fully and meaningfully involving civil society in all key aspects of planning and managing national action.
The country's HIV prevalence rate of 0.7% is testament to this, although the challenge lies in continuing the work and momentum created through current interventions and funding mechanisms.
MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Johann Barnard, 082 551 1414, johann@paprikacom.co.za
Sizo Majola, 0860 727 7452, sizo@paprikacom.co.za
Simon Moore, International HIV/AIDS Alliance, 01273 718744, smoore@aidsalliance.org
About The Observatoire
The Observatoire is comprised of five major NGOs: Africa Consultants International (ACI); ANCS; Environnement et Développement du Tiers Monde (Enda); SIDA Service; and Synergie pour l’Enfance.
While each has different aims and services, the members share common features, including being well established and respected, experienced in HIV work and not overly dependent on government funding. They also share an activist philosophy, seeing civil society as a key player that should both critique government and be held accountable for its own actions.
The Observatoire aims to act as a national watchdog by critically examining the response to HIV in Senegal, and developing constructive proposals and recommendations to improve the response. It is an informal network that meets as the need arises, with most communication via email or phone and decisions made by consensus. It provides a forum to exchange information and learn from each other’s perspectives, facilitating collective questioning and creative thinking. The Observatoire has never received funding, with all members working as volunteers.
About the International HIV/AIDS Alliance
The mission of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance (the Alliance) is to support communities to reduce the spread of HIV and to meet the challenges of AIDS.
Established in 1993, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance (the Alliance) is a global partnership of nationally-based organisations working to support community action on AIDS.
These national partners help local community groups and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to take action on AIDS, and are supported by technical expertise, policy work and fundraising carried out across the Alliance. In addition to community and country-based programmes, the Alliance also has extensive regional programmes and works on a range of international activities such as support for South–South cooperation, operations research, training and good practice development, as well policy analysis and advocacy.
The organisations in the International HIV/AIDS Alliance are extremely well placed to begin to address challenges to civil society organisations in making effective use of international funding, with their experience both in providing technical support to community organisations (particularly to marginalised groups), and their knowledge of international AIDS funding mechanisms.
ENDS
