Mbn hiv/aids evaluation final report Team of consultants

HIV/AIDS policy officer since	2000	1992	2004	2003
Resource person on HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS workplace policy	WPP drafted in 2005	Not regarded relevant for headquarters WPP at regional office in Harare, in draft at regional office in Costa Rica	WPP approved in 2005, implementation phase ongoing	WPP drafted in 2005	Intention to elaborate one

Remark: (1) HIV/AIDS policy officer: dates refer to the appointment/recruitment of a policy officer and does not refer to project or programme coordinators responsible for HIV/AIDS. (2) At the level of Plan International a HIV/AIDS policy paper and a HIV/AIDS workplace policy do exist and these documents are currently the guidelines for Plan Netherlands.
Policy development

Except for Hivos (HIV/AIDS policy paper since the early 90s), the approval of HIV/AIDS policy papers is of a recent date (ICCO in 2002, Novib in 2001, Cordaid in 2005 and Plan in 2006).

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  HIVOS focus in the early 90s was aimed at supporting AIDS focussed organisations to reach groups of people with high risk behaviour and people living with HIV/AIDS: a focussed and efficient response to HIV/AIDS epidemic for areas classified as “concentrated epidemics” (UNAIDS).
  
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  Novib, Cordaid and ICCO developed their policies when it was clear that the HIV/AIDS epidemic had an impact on development and needed mainstreaming as a multi-sector approach for areas, classified as “generalised epidemics” (UNAIDS).
  

As can be concluded from the table above, all CFAs have approved a separate HIV/AIDS policy. Plan Netherlands is in a process of finalising a separate HIV/AIDS policy with direct links to Plan International’s HIV/AIDS framework. However, many CFAs were already involved in HIV/AIDS related activities and policy discussions before 2001, for example:

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  Cordaid, ICCO and Plan did support HIV/AIDS activities before 2001 through their health programmes.
  
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  ICCO, in collaboration with Kerkinactie, has elaborated their first policy guidelines in 1998 which have been updated by MCS in 2001. Based on these policy guidelines the HIV/AIDS policy paper was developed.
  
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  The Projects Department of Novib even drafted a working paper entitled ‘Novib and HIV/AIDS’ as early as 1993, as an answer to an increasing number of funding requests.
  
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  The early response to HIV/AIDS of Hivos was already highlighted
  

One could say that the formulation of the separate HIV/AIDS policies can be seen as an acknowledgment of the CFAs that HIV/AIDS had to be dealt with as a development issues. Cordaid, ICCO and Plan started to broaden their AIDS-related portfolio of counterparts, moving away from the explicit health programs. A more detailed description of evolution in policy development can be found in the organisation reports (these are working documents and can be applied for upon request, see annex 7).

Engagement of staff

At the beginning, mainly staff responsible for programmes in Southern - and East Africa was engaged in HIV/AIDS policy development and implementation due to their confrontation with the consequences of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. At Hivos, staff of other continents was involved as they focus in particular on marginalised groups with high risk behaviour and on emancipation, relevant in all continents.

The African departments of the CFAs had discussions with their counterparts, organised workshops and started to finance HIV/AIDS-related activities. It was clear that the HIV/AIDS epidemic was changing from a “concentrated epidemic” to a “generalised epidemic” and needed a multi-sectoral approach, including high risk groups. The motivation and engagement of individual staff members was an important factor in boosting the implementation of HIV/AIDS programmes in the South in the early days (some examples: (1) Hivos: the early response of Hivos was mainly due to the engagement of the human rights officer and his involvement in the gay and lesbian movement. (2) Cordaid: many counterparts visited in Southern Africa appreciated the engagement of a former programme officer who really had inspired them and who played an important role regarding HIV/AIDS policy development at Cordaid). Since 2002 staff of other departments became engaged as well, participating in HIV/AIDS working groups and integrating HIV/AIDS into their regional strategies and plans. To date, HIV/AIDS is integrated in strategic and annuals plans of the African departments and, to a lesser extent, in the plans of the other departments.
The appointment of a HIV/AIDS policy officer (HIVOS-1993, Novib-2000, ICCO-2003 and Cordaid-2004) accelerated the development and implementation of the HIV/AIDS policies: input in policy development and implementation, the elaboration of a workplace policy, the organisation of trainings and workshops and active investment in strategic partnerships and networks. All CFAs have appointed HIV/AIDS policy officers (except for Plan who works with a resource person that is also responsible for programmes in Zambia and Ethiopia) and all of them have installed a HIV/AIDS work- or project group with participation of programme officers from different departments who serve as focal points for their departments. In 2005 Novib created a HIV/AIDS Action Plan group (HIV/AIDS action plan 2005-2006) with 30 members including people from the campaign- and lobby department; they meet every month at a fixed time. Furthermore, knowledge sessions on HIV/AIDS are offered to the staff at Novib 4 times a year.
All CFAs showed a genuine commitment to integrate HIV/AIDS in all their core functions, taking into account the investment in specific HIV/AIDS related jobs, the time investment of staff related to HIV/AIDS and the budget allocations for HIV/AIDS programmes in Europe and in the South (see further). This input varies between the CFAs:

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  HIVOS: since July 2005, after the reorganisation of the organisation, a HIV/AIDS specialised team has been installed, consisting of a programme manager and two programme officers at headquarters and four HIV/AIDS programme officers at the regional offices, all working together in a team (policy development, follow up of policy implementation in programmes, support to counterparts). HIVOS is the only CFA that recently opted for a sector or thematic approach, amongst them HIV/AIDS, which resulted in changes in the organisational structure at headquarters and in the field.
  
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  At NOVIB, the HIV/AIDS officer can give 100% of her time to HIV/AIDS, the focal points can dedicate 4 hours/week for HIV/AIDS. Novib started in 2005 with a knowledge management project, called KIC (Knowledge management with and between counterparts). One KIC officer can give 100% of her time to HIV/AIDS knowledge management. (since April 2005). The HIV/AIDS policy officer and KIC officer work in a team and collaborate with two Oxfam International HIV/AIDS coordinators in the regions of East and Central Africa and Southern Africa. These coordinators are partly paid by Novib.
  
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  At Cordaid the HIV/AIDS policy officer can give 100% of her time to HIV/AIDS but the focal points have to include HIV/AIDS- related activities into their daily work, according to what is feasible.
  
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  At ICCO the HIV/AIDS policy officer is also responsible for health (since 2005); the focal points can dedicate 4 hours/week for HIV/AIDS.
  
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  At Plan the resource person combines HIV/AIDS with programme management; the engagement of the focal points is non-committal.