COTONOU , January 28, 2009 -- The HIV/AIDS pandemic poses a major challenge to development. In Africa in particular, it is reducing life expectancy, threatening productivity, decimating the able-bodied workforce, reversing significant gains made in the area of poverty reduction, and jeopardizing the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Against this backdrop, HIV/AIDS prevention has emerged as a top—and urgent—priority. The World Bank, like the entire international community, has committed to combating this disease in collaboration with government authorities, and has provided significant funding for this purpose.
This commitment by the World Bank in Africa, as reflected in its Agenda for Action (AFA 2007—2009), is based on four pillars that represent the critical human, institutional, and financial challenges facing countries. This program attests to the desire of the World Bank to support all coherent frameworks that seek to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of the HIV/AIDS response. In fact, this effort will help to improve governance and accountability in existing public sector and community structures.
The importance of governance in operations to combat HIV/AIDS
Fiduciary risks in operations to combat AIDS are generally high, and governance issues are important. This is due to: (i) the plethora of actors involved in the implementation of activities, such as the public sector, civil society organizations, and a host of grassroots community associations; and (ii) the often urgent nature of operations in a sensitive area where customary procedures for preparing conventional projects are not all followed, and where adjustments are made during their execution based on evolving knowledge.
It is important, then, to pay particular attention to governance in HIV/AIDS operations. This requires, inter alia, the effective functioning of institutions, clearly defined roles and responsibilities, effective procedures, the efficient use of human and financial resources, implementation structures that function in a transparent manner and give account of their management, and the involvement and accountability of civil society and the beneficiaries. It is in this context that the World Bank has undertaken to conduct evaluations of governance in the HIV/AIDS operations that it finances, with a view to helping to build national capacities in self-evaluation of practices in this area, and institutionalize good governance, the circulation of information, and transparency at all levels in national AIDS prevention programs.
The selection of Benin to conduct the evaluation
Benin was selected to conduct this survey for two fundamental reasons: (i) Benin already possesses a certain level of expertise in the community approach to development (primarily through projects such as the National Community-Driven Development Project (PNDCC), the Support Project for the Rural Community of Borgou (PAMRB), the Social Fund Project, and several others); and (ii) the clear desire demonstrated at the national level by the authorities to learn lessons from this evaluation with a view to strengthening, in a transparent manner, HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in the country, which had nothing to do with poor governance or corruption. The Multi-Sectoral HIV/AIDS Project (PMLS) served as the “reference project” for the study.
Results of the evaluation
The main observations of the evaluation are summarized below:
Institutional mechanisms. The report noted the following positive facts concerning the institutional mechanisms put in place: (i) the National AIDS Council (CNLS), the highest body responsible for designing and monitoring policies to combat the pandemic; (ii) a legal and institutional framework to combat AIDS; (iii) the existence of CNLS units throughout the country; (iv) the use of the services of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to build the capacities of community organizations; (v) the use of the Agency for Financing Community-Based Initiatives (AGeFIB) as the financial management agency (this agency has regional offices that ensure proximity to the beneficiaries); (vi) an acceptable level of representation of women in community management bodies; and (vii) the fact that the composition of 90.9 percent of community organizations is in accordance with project guidelines.
The weaknesses of these institutional mechanisms noted in the report are, inter alia: (i) the instability of the institutional linkage of the Permanent Secretariat of the National AIDS Council (SP/CNLS); (ii) the fact that the CNLS does not coordinate all AIDS prevention activities in Benin; and (iii) the non-functionality of the computerized monitoring/evaluation system of the reference project (the system became operational only at the end of the project).
I mplementation processes and the mechanisms related to the accountability obligation. The report noted the following strengths: the subprojects and action plans submitted for financing were subject to an approval and compliance review process conducted by the appropriate bodies on the basis of standards tools; and the monitoring and evaluation process was carried out using a technical scorecard. The weaknesses observed were the lack of a systematic dissemination of the results of the approvals, and the shortcomings relating to the compliance review, procurement, and financial management.
Mechanisms for the use of funds. The management training provided to beneficiaries before the disbursement of funds and transparency in the establishment of these funds (handing over of checks in the presence of several members of the management committee) were seen as positive outcomes. However, the report identified a number of cases of mismanagement, namely the fraudulent withdrawal of funds, orders that had been paid for but had not been delivered, and, in some cases, the involvement from the outset of support NGOs in the management of funds.
Social accountability obligation mechanisms and the obligation to provide information to the public and manage corruption-related complaints. Lastly, the encouraging practices observed in communities were the use of local radio stations, an evaluation system involving the use of cards, where communities issue cards (satisfaction) to those who have successfully performed their tasks, and the production of periodic reports on the evolution of the reference project. The report nevertheless noted the non-operationalization of the single monitoring and evaluation system that allows the CNLS to improve processing and dissemination of information on efforts to combat HIV/AIDS at the central and decentralized levels.
This report on self-evaluation of governance in operations to combat HIV/AIDS was presented to actors involved in this effort during a dissemination workshop held in Cotonou on Tuesday, January 13, 2009. This workshop was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Health, UNAIDS, the World Bank, and other partner institutions. The results and the various recommendations of the report were discussed, and significant contributions were made by the participants.
For the Director of the Office of the Ministry of Health, who represented the Minister, the conduct of this survey was crucial for Benin: “ Good governance is part of what the Government identified as being one of the top priorities in poverty alleviation efforts in Benin. In view of the impact of HIV/AIDS on development, it would be a disaster if funds earmarked to combat this pandemic were to be misappropriated (...). The report produced is therefore important, because it will allow us to verify the relevance of mechanisms and procedures put in place in order to make considerable strides in future AIDS prevention efforts in our country. ”
RSS