BOTSWANA: Global AIDS Fund proposals on track

Botswana's response to the Global AIDS Fund's call for proposals has been "overwhelming", an official from the Country's Coordination Mechanism (CCM) told PlusNews.

"We have all been working day and night to make sure we have everything ready for the deadline," said Dr Babu Khan national coordinator for the National AIDS Coordinating Agency (NACA). The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria issued a call for proposals for the first round of grants last month and set a deadline for 10 March.

Guidelines for funding proposals for the Global Fund were distributed to all stakeholders in the country by 12 February and the first meeting was held on 20 February. The CCM was divided into two sub-committees: one for HIV/AIDS proposals coordinated by NACA and the other for TB and Malaria under the department of health, Kahn said.

"We decided that because there were three diseases involved, the authority to submit proposals would be a neutral body, like the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning," she said.

The HIV/AIDS sub-committee was a large group, which had been divided further into theme groups, such as youth, care and support and HIV/AIDS and human rights groups. The committee had further developed the eligibility criteria and guidelines set out by the Global Fund, "to make it simpler for everyone to understand", as several organisations had complained that the guidelines were not clear, she added.

According to Kahn, the CCM had received support from UNAIDS and other UN agencies, which provided consultants to assist organisations with their proposals.

UNAIDS was providing technical assistance with the writing up and finalising of proposals, particularly in areas such as costing and monitoring and evaluation, a local UNAIDS official told PlusNews. "There was very little time for the organisations to come up with something and it was almost a mission impossible," he said.

The response from various stakeholders had been "wonderful", in spite of the time constraints and the CCM had already received 20 proposals from a wide range of organisations, said Kahn.

The Botswana Network of AIDS Service Organisations (BONASO), which consists of up to 50 members, is one organisation that has submitted a proposal. "The notice we were given was very short, but the CCM has done the best they could, under the circumstances," a member told PlusNews.

For information on the Global Fund's guidelines:
http://www.globalfundatm.org/files/PPguidelines.doc

Theme (s): Care/Treatment - PlusNews,

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]