Service Contract No 2007 / 147-446 Strategic ... - Swaziland

Global Fund, funds from donors spent on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria programmes. Activitiesare coordinated by a Country Co-ordinating Mechanism (CCM), whose Board comprisesrepresentation from 37 organisations: UN/multilateral bodies, the MoH and other ministries,NERCHA, NGOs and community-based organisations (CBOs), the private sector/missions,PLWHA, religious bodies, traditional healers, youth associations, woman associations, andacademic/education individuals (MoH, 2008).Global Fund support concentrates mainly on reducing the incidence of HIV/AIDS, andmitigating the impact on infected and affected individuals, families and communities 45 . TheFund’s objectives and activities for HIV/AIDS programmes include:- To promote safer positive sexual behaviour and delay sexual ‘debut’, through:formulating an Information, Education and Communication strategy, and trainingtrainers on it; establishing a national HIV/AIDS training centre; strengthening youthcentres/clubs, and training peer educators/counsellors for them; and distributingmale/female condoms.- To prevent vertical transmission of HIV from mother to child, through: training healthworkers in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT); procuring PMTCTequipment, material and supplies; and sensitising the public on PMTCT.- To develop and strengthen VCT centres, through: maintaining the functioning of thecentres; strengthening their capacity to provide quality VCT services; upgradingmobile VCT services in Public Health Unit outreach; and making people aware ofVCT.- To strengthen HBC through: conducting refresher courses for key stakeholders;procuring/distributing HBC non-prescriptive drugs/materials; and monitoring andevaluation.- To strengthen Clinical Management of HIV/AIDS patients, through: procuringantiretrovirals and drugs for opportunistic infections; procuring/supplying laboratoryequipment for HIV/AIDS diseases; equipping clinical management services for qualitycontrol activities; and procuring transport for drug distribution.In order to achieve the above, the major functions of the Fund are to:- prepare/review new submissions of projects from implementers;- approve proposals/budgets of prospective recipients; and- monitor and evaluate the implementation of activities.Since being established in 2002, the fund has been instrumental in initiating newprogrammes, scaling up services, strengthening capacity, and assisting in creating aconducive environment for optimum service provision. However, in its assessment ofattaining its objectives, the Fund concludes that the institutional capacity of the health sectoris not adequate to facilitate and effectively implement Fund-supported activities due to ashortage of human resources, poor co-ordination and integration of activities in the healthsector, and poor monitoring systems. In response, recommendations include:- planning: to improve planning processes within the health sector, involving allstakeholders;- coordination: to reinforce MoH capacities to implement and monitor the health sectorresponse to HIV/AIDS; partners such as NERCHA to provide technical support to45 NERCHA is the principle recipient of the funds.RDMU (Strategic Environmental Assessment of the National Adaptation Strategy) - Page 82