The 'Yes We Can Campaign on AIDS financing' was launched at the XV International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) in Dakar, Senegal in December 2008. The campaign originated from the call to development partners, governments and international donors, for a paradigm shift in how indigenous CSOs are supported. The campaign is aimed at sensitizing various stakeholders on the potential of indigenous CSOs as they will ensure funds go directly to the communities and that this action goes to reducing operational costs of international NGOs and Governments directly implementing at community level.

Campaign Rallying Call:

YES WE CAN! Invest in Indigenous CSOs NOW!

Campaign Champions

EANNASO and Country Networks of AIDS Service Organizations in Eastern Africa.

Issues the Campaign seeks to address

The Campaign focuses on two major challenges faced by CSOs in Eastern Africa and in Africa generally, namely

1. limited access to financial resources and
2. the generally low technical capacity,

which together with other factors, do militate against CSO and seriously impact on their capacity to deliver, effectiveness of delivery and sustainability.

This campaign calls for an increase and sustainable funding to CSOs, particularly indigenous CSOs, harmonized funding modalities with clear guidelines at all levels on how CSOs and CBOs will access funds for their work, sustainable capacity development packages for CSOs, full accountability by governments and other actors that receive and manage funds and effective monitoring systems and ensuring that resources or the benefits thereof eventually trickle down to the intended.

The overall Goal of the Campaign:

To call for sustainable AIDS financing for a more effective community response

Background to the Campaign

Availability, sufficiency, sustainable and effective utilization of HIV and AIDS funds determines the response to the epidemic. In low income countries and Sub-Saharan Africa in particular, this has consistently remained one of the greatest challenges and probably one that will stay for the foreseeable future. In planning and rolling out comprehensive responses to HIV and AIDS, a number of factors hinder the attainment of Universal Access and financing carries a significant share.

While a decade ago the main concern was increase of funding from the donor community who provide finances and technical assistance to low and middle income countries, the Global Fund and also Governments own allocation for HIV and AIDS budgets, within same period, there has been a significant increase. Available data and analysis show that commitments rose from USD 1.6 billion in 2002 to USD 5.6 billion in 2006 while actual disbursement rose from USD 1.2 billion in 2002 to USDS 3.9 billions in 2006. This is indeed a significant increase resulting from increased realization of both the need and the enormous impact of the epidemic to poor countries. A fact worth noting is that Sub-Saharan Africa takes over 50% of all these funds. (Data source UNAIDS)

Yet, despite the colourful figures, voices of CSOs and even countries have continuously been raised concern over scarce resources, increasing number of infected and affected population and generally infection rates in those countries not dropping; Civil Society is still struggling to access available resources. Terrible and devastating stories of individuals and communities being impoverished by the impact of HIV and AIDS pandemic still loom in our countries although finances for HIV and AIDS have increased significantly.

Simple logic would tell us, that the amount of resources does not at all match the negative impact of the pandemic, particularly at grassroots level.

In Eastern Africa, the question of sustainability of AIDS Financing and the reality of the inability of resources to reach the low level actors in the countries and thus affecting service delivery has been cited repeatedly by CSO as among major issues of concern currently affecting them. Eastern Africa National Networks of AIDS Service Organizations (EANNASO) members have raised the concern over time in the last 3 years.

EANNASO has thus taken on the task of raising the awareness of the relevant persons and bodies of persons to ensure that relevant messages with regard to the issues are put across, attitudes and mind sets are changed and necessary remedial action taken. This is done by way of the Campaign - 'YES WE CAN! Invest in Indigenous CSOs NOW!' The central key idea thrusting the campaign theme are: to 'PUT RESOURCES WHERE THEY ARE NEEDED MOST' and "ENSURING VALUE FOR MONEY'.

The basic Tenets of the Campaign

1. Increase Funding to Indigenous CSOs! CSOs carry the bulk of the workload in national responses to the HIV and AIDS; yet resources allocated to them for the work is not commensurate to their workload. Indigenous CSOs are affected the most. Deserving attention needs to be paid on indigenous CSOs so that they get a fair share of resources needed to enable them contribute effectively to bringing about the needed change on the ground
2. Ensure Sustainable Capacity development programmes for CSOs! Some Donors and development Partners over-emphasize lack of capacity on the part of Indigenous CSOs as reason for not sufficiently funding them.
3. Ensure Effective Use of available Resources! CSOs are concerned with ineffective use of the resources available at national level. This is coupled with lack of innovation on mobilizing potential sources of resources in-country. Amid the Global economic downturn, mechanisms for mobilization of resources at all levels are an urgent necessity.
4. Make Resources trickle-down! Despite a significant increase of funding to the fight against the pandemic over time, funds hardly trickle down to the community level where the response has to make a crucial difference. We surely need more resources for fighting HIV and AIDS, and, in addition to that and equally important, we need the resources that are currently being availed to work more effectively and meaningfully and reach where they are supposed to make a difference, that is, down to the heart of the problem/ at the primary level of the need, to the communities at large.

Our Call:

To Development Partners, Multilateral and bilateral Donors and National Governments:

• Justice needs to be done to national responses by ensuring CSOs are sufficiently resourced
• National responses have to ensure that funds actually reach the community level.
• More effective utilization of the available resources will go a long way to helping countries progress towards Universal access.
• Donors and Development Partners should work closely with CSOs to chart out sustainable capacity development programs

Thus,

We need a paradigm shift! :-

• 'Invest more in indigenous CSO efforts in national responses to the Pandemic; they can make the difference!
• Harmonize financing mechanisms and modalities for better results.
• Devise better financing arrangements with in-built capacity development components which would ensure sustainable technical abilities on the part of indigenous CSOs
• Do not dismiss indigenous CSOs as not having capacity as an excuse not to fund them for their work in the national responses! Rather, Invest in long term, sustainable capacity development strategies, not one -off activities.

The impact:

• Investment in indigenous CSOs will eventually lead to taking the services closer to the wider populations at the community level
• It shall ensure sustainable in-built capacities within countries;?
• It will facilitate better results in the responses at the community level

Where the Campaign is currently taking Place

The campaign is taking place in Eastern Africa and specifically there are country level campaigns taking place in Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Zanzibar. Initial steps for the campaign are being made in other countries within the EANNASO constituency, namely Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros.

What is happening now

1. Country surveys on CSO Financing and capacity in Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zanzibar. Expected to be finalized by end of February 2010
2. National campaign teams formed in the four countries
3. Country campaign plans developed and implementation of the plans under way especially by way of lobby action targeting governments and development partners at country level
4. Continuing awareness creation to the larger CSO community and the populace on the campaign, its central ideas and messages and rallying for support.

Expected Soon

• Reports of country surveys on CSO Financing and Capacity on Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Zanzibar;
• A consolidated report showing the general regional trends on the subject; and
• Country Fact Sheets on the subject.
• Regional and global campaign strategy which shall link to other existing campaigns on health and AIDS Financing that have messages consistent to those of the YES WE CAN! Invest in Indigenous CSOs NOW!

Please join us , work with us! -

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