Memorandum submitted by the International
HIV/AIDS Alliance
My colleagues and I at the International HIV/AIDS
Alliance welcome the decision of the International Development
Committee to hold an inquiry into HIV/AIDS and social and economic
development.
The Alliance is an international NGO supporting
community responses to AIDS in developing countries. Since our
establishment in 1993, we have worked in partnership with over
1,000 local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Africa, Asia
and Latin America, encouraging them to engage in AIDS work and
helping them to improve their prevention, care and impact-alleviation
activities. The Alliance also serves as a Collaborating Centre
of UNAIDS.
In discussing the response of the international
community to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, we would like to draw the
Committee's attention to the following principle points:
— successful responses to HIV/AIDS
require community involvement and commitment, especially from
people living with HIV;
— the Department for International
Development (DFID) has supported some of the most important and
innovative HIV activities in the developing world, but seemingly
outside any overall strategy for ensuring a broad impact. DFID
recently increased its commitment to HIV and began a process of
improving its programmes; nevertheless, DFID is by no means a
leader on this issue amongst bilateral aid agencies. The lack
of DFID strategy is particularly evident in regard to civil society
responses to AIDS, as reflected in a recent decision in India
to phase out support to a remarkable "Healthy Highways"
project without ensuring an adequate transition plan;
— the European Commission's support
to HIV responses in developing countries has been particularly
strong in certain areas of research, especially regarding the
links between STDs and HIV. Unfortunately, the Commission seems
to lack the necessary political will, bureaucratic structures
and technical expertise to effectively support community and civil
society responses to AIDS; and
— the lack of technical capacity in
HIV/AIDS at both DFID and the EC has constrained the development
of appropriate responses. In contrast, the United States continues
to pull more than its weight in supporting developing country
HIV programmes.
International HIV/AIDS Alliance
May 2000
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