UpdatesThe A.R.T. Show – KZNSA Gallery, Durban – opens 10 February 2012 at 18h00
The A.R.T. Show looks at the current HIV/AIDS situation where theoretically there is now widespread access to treatment. How is this reality affecting the lives of individuals, and the social structure of our society? This exhibition represents a variety of artworks examining both the triumphs and trials of this new phase in the AIDS epidemic. Click here to read more. "Improving governance through budget transparency" by Michael Lipsky, Huffington Post A secondary result of the fiscal crises now spooling out in the United States and Europe will be greater scrutiny of the efficacy of public expenditures. Nowhere is this likely to have greater impact than in foreign aid and development assistance, as countries demand greater accountability for each dollar or euro spent. At the same time, citizens in many countries receiving assistance are also pressuring their governments for accountability. Click here to read more. Demonstrators rally to urge African leaders to spend more on health Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Health Policy Analyst Dr Mit Phillips described the cancelation of the Global Fund's Round 11 as a "catastrophe," as protesters demonstrated to call on African leaders to commit more internal resources to the HIV response. Dr Phillips said the cancelation will have devastating consequences on millions of people who are yet to access ARV drugs. Click here to read more. R4D: Launch of UHC Forward and Global Fund: Finding a way to remobilise R4D: The UHC Forward has been launched — a new online hub that consolidates news, events, and publications related to the global universal health coverage (UHC) movement. Visitors can stay informed of health coverage efforts in countries around the world, explore key issues and policy debates, exchange ideas and find links to additional resources to support their own efforts. Click here to read more. Global Fund: Finding a way to remobilise: Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, writes that though the Global Fund has allowed so many lives to be saved, the financial crisis is worrying. We are closer than ever before to ending major epidemics and attaining the Millennium goals for health. On the other, the economic crisis is imposing major budget restrictions on the development aid provided by wealthy countries, and exerting strong pressure on budgets devoted to the social sector in the developing world. Click here to read more. IBP: Fiscal transparency and subnational governance The IBP's Open Budget Initiative has new info part of a multi-year research project combining quantitative and qualitative evidence on the causes and consequences of budget transparency, participation, and accountability, the IBP has just published working papers that address some of the gaps in the literature, and verify the usefulness of its Open Budget Index as a measure of budget transparency. As subnational governments are increasingly charged with implementing government spending, a clear understanding of where, when, and how public monies are spent at that level is essential for citizens to hold those governments to account. Recognizing this, as well as the scarcity of academic and policy literature on the subject, the IBP’s Open Budget Initiative commissioned 10 pilot studies. CEGAA DIRECTOR ON CNBC Africa: The economic aspects of African HIV/AIDS responses CEGAA Trustee and Founding Director, Teresa Guthrie, gave a live interview from Nairobi, Kenya, on ABN/CNBC Africa's "Beyond Markets" programme for World AIDS Day 2011. Replying to issues raised by presenter Lerato Mbele, Teresa described the positive impacts achieved in scaled-up responses to the pandemic, as well as projections and priorities for ongoing investment to counter the effects of the prevailing AIDS funding crisis. To view the broadcast, go to: World AIDS Day 2011: CEGAA calls for an uprising in AIDS budgeting As World AIDS Day dawns in 2011, the horizon of HIV knowledge and action has expanded beyond health science – and our progress gives us good reason to celebrate. Vigorous activism, research excellence, stronger political will and more cohesive social leadership have resulted in access to viable treatment, a range of proven biomedical prevention mechanisms, clearer epidemiological profiles, and broad-based HIV counselling and testing. Yet, in this moment of significant gains, commonality of purpose and commitment to accelerating our efforts, we in Africa find ourselves on the edge of a sheer drop in our HIV/AIDS response. The global economic crisis is fracturing foreign donor pledges and deepening socio-economic inequality in middle- and lower-income countries with a high burden of HIV/AIDS. Click here to read the document Cancellation of the Global Fund’s Round 11 grant Read the Budget and Expenditure Monitoring Forum’s press statement – 28 November 2011 Global Fund Round 11 cancellation BEMF statement
The IBP and its partners assemble to advance the Global Civil Society Budget Movement On 18 November 2011 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, nearly 100 civil society groups from 54 countries, as well as 12 international organisations, will hold the First Global Assembly for Budget Transparency, Accountability, and Participation. The Assembly is an attempt by a broad range of activists and organisations to complement their country-level work with collaborative international-level advocacy. The historic effort aims to build an integrated and vibrant movement of organisations that will promote government budgeting that is open and accountable to the public. Budgets are the most critical tool that governments have to address problems like poverty, provide critical services like education and healthcare, and invest in their country’s future. When the political speeches end, it’s how governments manage funds to meet their promises and priorities that matters. Participating international organisations include Greenpeace, the ONE Campaign, and the International Budget Partnership (IBP). The IBP, along with a steering committee of its civil society partners, began in early 2011 to lay the foundation of this effort to catalyse the growing movement of organisations engaging in budget analysis and advocacy into a strong, vibrant and cohesive civil society voice in international debates on public finance issues. Read the full “Make Budgets Public Now!” media statement here Videos of the Assembly will be posted at www.makebudgetspublic.org. Learn more about the IBP’s other international advocacy initiatives here. Share your thoughts with #MakeBudgetsPublic
THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN: VISION FOR 2030 DEEPENS DEMOCRACY South Africa's National Development Plan: Vision for 2030 was handed to President Zuma and Deputy President Motlantheby the National Planning Commission Chairperson Minister Trevor Manuel, Deputy Chair Cyril Ramaphosa and NPC Commissioners on 11 November 2011. Of special interest to CEGAA's users are Chapter 10 (Promoting Health - pp. 295-324), Chapter 14 (Promoting Accountability and Fighting Corruption - pp. 401-410), and Chapter 15 (Transforming Society and Uniting the Country - pp 411-429). Minister Manuel presented the Plan as a model for involving community members in improving their lives. This new paradigm requires empowered citizens with access to basic and civic education, skills and efficient health, nutrition and housing services, as well as governance that welcomes inclusion and participatory decision-making in public service issues. For access to the PDF version, go to:
South Africa's Human Resources for Health Strategy 2012 to 2017 In October 2011, South Africa's National Department of Health launched a new five-year plan to address human resource shortages in the public healthcare system, withmeasures to invigorate primary healthcare throughout the country. "This HRH Strategy document is a guide to action. Starting with immediate effect, we need to undertake a range of activities, make new policies, develop new programmes, make detailed staffing plans for new service strategies, and manage our health care workforce in ways that motivate them to provide quality health care." - Dr Aaron Motsoaledi: SA Minister of Health For access to the full Strategy document, go to:
CEGAA is committed to ensuring that we remain abreast of and contribute to current developments related to our field, and we participate regularly in HIV/AIDS community events and research fora. Prioritising for HIV Investment
Renowned health economist Alan Whiteside delivered a public lecture entitled “Economics and HIV: Costs and Consequences” at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban on 12 October 2011. After reflecting on the past 30 years of HIV and AIDS science, politics and socio-economic challenges in South Africa, he cited projections reported last year in the AIDS2031 project conducted by CEGAA and the Results for Development Institute. The AIDS2031 data illustrate the severity of South Africa’s continuing epidemic, the prospect of increased numbers on treatment, and the anticipated demands on the national fiscus and health services inherent in this scenario. While defending the biomedical evidence and moral imperative that form the basis for life-long ARV provision, Whiteside argued for equally heightened attention to prevention behaviour, so as to reduce the macro-economic impact of supporting three million people on HIV treatment... Read more
THE AFRICA FORUM ON CIVIL SOCIETY AND GOVERNANCE ASSESSMENTS The Africa Forum on Civil Society and Governance Assessments will be held in Dakar from 10-12 November 2011, bringing together about 50 civil society and development practitioner participants from an estimated 20 countries and representatives of UNDP. It will be a unique learning and networking opportunity for delegates to interact with and learn from leading analysts of African civil society and governance assessment initiatives, and representatives of regional and global civil society organisations.The event will focus on how more effective involvement by civil society actors in governance assessments can promote democratic governance, through increased accountability and more inclusive participation. To read more, go to:
CEGAA Annual Report 2010/11 We are pleased to announce the release of CEGAA’s Annual Report 2010/11. The Report presents the organisation’s evolution over the last four years, a profile of recent and current projects, and our strategic plans for ongoing expansion. Click here for the PDF version of CEGAA’s 2010/11 Annual Report. Should you wish to obtain a CD-ROM or printed version of the Report, please e-mail your request to Judith King (CEGAA Communications and Advocacy Manager) at judith@cegaa.org, providing your postage details, and the number and format of the copies you require.
New Resources
CEGAA has moved to new offices
Our new physical address is:
5th Floor
30 Waterkant Street
Cape Town
Our telephone, fax and postal details remain unchanged:
Tel: +27 (0) 21 425 2852
Fax: +27 (0) 86 514 8980 PO Box 7004 Roggebaai 8012 South Africa For anything urgent, please call Jacky Viglino on +27 (0)82 771 1547 or Lindy van Ster on +27 (0)76 709 5037
TAC Community Monitors compile their first HIV/AIDS and TB budget analyses
As CEGAA’s Budget Monitoring and Expenditure Tracking (BMET) project enters the second half of Phase 2 in partnership with the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), TAC Community Health Advocates are actively monitoring budgets and spending on HIV/AIDS and TB programmes in four new districts in South Africa: GertSibande District(Mpumalanga Province), Mopani District (Limpopo Province), Ekurhuleni District(Gauteng Province) and Khayelitsha District (Western Cape Province)... Read more
Open Government Partnership (OGP) Conference -12 July 2011, Washington DC CEGAA was invited to attend the first high-level meeting of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), a new international initiative formed to advance President Obama’s and Secretary of State Clinton's vision of strengthening democracy and human rights, fighting corruption, and harnessing innovative technology in the 21st century... Read more
IBP on the Open Government Partnership.
For more information on Conversations With America: A Discussion on Open Government Partnership, go to: http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/cwa_open_government
5th SA AIDS Conference, Durban, June 2011 CEGAA Programme Manager Nhlanhla Ndlovu presented findings from our BMET project in a presentation entitled: "Community and health facility budget advocacy issues around HIV/AIDS and TB service delivery at district level" - PPT file is provided here for reference. SA AIDS Conference Power Point presentation
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