The initiatives taken have certainly accelerated the process of dealing with HIV/AIDS by the different CFAs, but efficiency of the process of integrating HIV/AIDS into all its core functions of the CFAs is challenged by following factors:
There are one (ICCO, Cordaid) and two (Novib) HIV/AIDS specialist who devote 100% of their time to HIV/AIDS at the CFAs. These persons are overloaded as they have to give support to many programme officers and are asked for advice on many project proposals/plans and evaluations.
Focal points that give support but are themselves not HIV/AIDS specialists (or even responsible for a big portfolio of counterparts). They need training and a better and more detailed task description.
The HIV/AIDS thematic groups work well concerning the elaboration of HIV/AIDS policy papers, workplace policies, information dissemination but to a lesser extent in building HIV/AIDS-competence within the different departments and programmes.
The fact that staff of CFAs are generalists who have to deal with a lot of different themes and counterparts.
All programme officers need a minimum of skills development to become HIV/AIDS competent in the dialogue with counterparts. Another possibility is to choose a thematic approach, like HIVOS did recently. Programme officers should be able to recognise when partners need more technical support, which can be organised by the partner itself, facilitated and motivated by the CFA programme officer.
Some other factors that can hamper efficiency:
Implementation of the HIV/AIDS policy was rather weakly monitored in the period 2001-2004. As implementation plans are lacking so is the systematic follow–up. Recently (2005) initiatives have been taken to improve this monitoring (e.g. development of implementation plans by HIVOS and NOVIB). The CFAs through SAN! decided in 2005 to develop and share a “state of affairs of implementation on HIV/AIDS policy” every year.
The evaluators were confronted with a lack of knowledge management within the CFAs, talking to programme officers who had recently changed jobs and were not fully aware of the way their department had responded to HIV/AIDS so far. Novib started a knowledge management project in 2005, including one HIV/AIDS thematic officer.
There is some, but no systematic exchange of good experiences or best practices within the organisations and between them. This can be improved.
Collaboration between the CFAs and with other stakeholders has enhanced efficiency. Interesting initiatives have been taken by the CFAs:
The directors of SAN! Partnership decided in 2004 to work in development projects. SAN! started to contribute with technical support through these development projects. This support (a person who can devote time to the implementation) has given a boost to the collaboration between the CFA’s. . CFAs collaborate more intensively which will result in a common developed strategy to respond to HIV/AIDS, based on research and good practices.
The CFAs are not directly involved in advocacy and lobby, but indirectly through SAN! and Sharenet (for sexual and reproductive rights), through their international allies (each CFA has its own international network) and through the support (financially or linking and learning) of important regional and international networks/organisations that lobby international agencies (like UNAIDS, WHO, Global Fund), regional institutions (like the European commission and parliament, the Pan American Health Organisation) or national governments. The evaluators consider this to be an appropriate choice, taking into account that lobby expertise on HIV/AIDS-related issues lies within these networks/organisations and not as such within each CFA separately.
