The Daily Observer (Banjul)
Fatoumata Mbenga
6 November 2009
column
Limya Eltayeb, the UNDP deputy representative in The Gambia has said that HIV/AIDS is not only a health issue, but also influenced by social and economic factors and as such, it requires multi-sectoral response.
She made this statement recently at the opening of a day's sensitisation forum on mainstreaming HIV/AIDS into the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRSP II) for policy makers, held at the Paradise Suites Hotel in Kololi. The programme was organised by the National Planning Commission in collaboration with the National AIDS Secretariat (NAS).
"Over the past 25 years much has been learned about the AIDS epidemic and effective responses. We now know that to ensure true universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, comprehensive strategies are required that will involve rights-based and evidence-informed approaches; the inclusion of affected communities; and attention to the structural and social factors that drive the epidemic, - including gender inequality and stigma and discrimination.
These strategies require multi-sectoral contributions and balanced attention to prevention, treatment, care and support. In this regard, mainstreaming HIV in the short-term, medium-term and long-term national development plans is considered one critical strategy that the UN system is advocating, and we are sure that all of you present today will also be advocating. It is therefore no coincidence that The Gambia adopted this approach which resulted in this very important workshop to sensitize you - the policy makers," she said.
She noted that in The Gambia, mainstreaming of HIV/AIDS into the PRSP process started in 2007 when UNAIDS facilitated consultations between the ministry of Finance & Economic Affairs, NAS, NPC (then SPACO), and an international consultant from UNDP HIV/AIDS group in New York, and the UNDP Country Office in The Gambia. During these consultations, she added, certain gaps were identified in the PRSP II; for instance, there was the need for the PRSP 11 to create stronger linkages between poverty and HIV/AIDS.
"Furthermore, it was observed that during the PRSP's consultative process, People Living with HIV/ADS were not targeted as a group and thus their concerns and issues were not adequately articulated in the document. Thus, the initiative was highly welcomed as timely and relevant by the national authorities and the UN agencies as an attempt to address these gaps," she revealed.
Thereafter, she added, a national taskforce comprising representatives from the National AIDS Secretariat, National AIDS Control Programme, SPACO, BAFROW, UNDP and UNAIDS was constituted and with the facilitation of a national consultant prepare an Issue Paper to identify and analyse the linkages between AIDS and Poverty in the PRSP and propose relevant interventions to ensure that HIV/AIDS is mainstreamed in the implementation process of the PRSP II.
According to her, this in turn, led to the development of the Country Follow up Action Plan (CFA), which she said was unanimously endorsed by all relevant national authorities, UN agencies and funded to the tune of $80,000.00 under the UNAIDS/ UNDP Unified Budget and Work Plan. She noted that the National AIDS Secretariat and the National Planning Commission jointly implemented the CFA activities in close collaboration with the NACP, BAFROW, UNAIDS, UNDP and other key stakeholders.
The aim of these efforts she pointed out is scaling up a comprehensive and sustained national response and strengthening the implementation process of the PRSP II. "This sensitization is one of the CFA activities. It is aimed to ensure that policy makers at the highest level are adequately informed of the process and to ensure that their relevant sectors take part in the process. This is highly pertinent and timely given that the PRSP11 will be subjected to a mid-term review this year. As we embark on this crucial national process, we need to ensure that HIV/AIDS issues are adequately addressed in this important document. This is perhaps one concrete way of ensuring sustainability of the national response to HIV and AIDS in The Gambia," she further told the gathering.
"However, we also need to ensure that HIV and AIDS actions become part of the normal functions of your respective sector and organisations; engage your sectors in continuous advocacy and capacity building to understand and undertake mainstreaming as a key component of their work; forge strategic partnerships to ensure high levels of coordination and collaboration for effective programme implementation; and gradually integrate AIDS responses funding in the PRSP and your respective sector policies and programmes to address the longer term dimension of the response to AIDS," she concluded.
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