Southern African Customs Union countries held a meeting of national HIV/AIDS coordinators in Johannesburg October 13 and 14th facilitated by the World Bank. The four small countries severely affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic have agreed to work together to combat what they consider the most difficult development challenge facing their countries. Representatives from Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland came together to share experiences and ideas and to look at ways of making progress. Southern Africa is at the epicenter of the pandemic. All four countries (each with a population of around two million) share many similarities, in particular the socio-economic impact of AIDS and its challenge to development.
The objectives of the meeting were:
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to provide a forum for discussion on the progress of the respective national programs, experiences and lessons learned
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to bring about better understanding of the most urgent problems faced by the individual countries and common problems for the region
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to explore regional mechanisms for coordination and networking among the national AIDS coordinating bodies and with development partners
Delegates agreed that the workshop succeeded in its objectives. Representatives agreed to work together in a number of ways, including exchange of information and more cooperation and coordination where practical. They agreed initially this will be achieved through electronic communication, spearheaded by Swaziland’s national coordinating agency (NERCHA). They said there is a need for more targeted meetings on specific topics, such as prevention, treatment and orphans and vulnerable children. They also called on the World Bank and other development partners who were all represented at the meeting to support and help sustain good initiatives, such as the Regional Development Marketplace small grants competition that the Pretoria regional bank office held in 2004 on HIV/AIIDS.
The World Bank Country Director Ritva Reinnika said the Bank will explore the possibility of a regional grant for the four countries to address commonly identified problems. She also agreed with delegates that there is a need for an impact across all four countries that could help inform the nature of a potential regional assistance package.
During the workshop, the World Bank’s director for HIV/AIDS programs Debrework Zewdie acknowledged coordination and harmonization need improvement: “We want to be able to help countries, not be a burden”. She said the adoption of the “three ones” should help development partners and countries improve their coordination. She urged the AIDS coordinating agencies, and their development partners, to really adhere to the principles of one national strategy, one national authority and one national monitoring and evaluation system. She also noted the Bank wants to do more, especially to help middle income countries like Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland. She said the newly-created Global Problem-Solving and Implementation Support Team (GIST) is at their disposal.
Delegates described the meeting as a useful start. They said countries need to come together and speak with one voice on common issues. They also agreed they should have a forum to articulate their specific needs and explore possible common solutions.
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