BOTSWANA: Lack of capacity closes NGO's doors

Gaborone, 9 February 2005 (PlusNews) - As more HIV/AIDS resources begin flowing into developing countries, a lack of capacity in some smaller AIDS organisations is making it difficult for them to manage donor funding.

Botswana's Coping Centre for People Living with HIV/AIDS (COCEPWA) is a case in point.

COCEPWA, an organisation supporting HIV-positive Batswana in seven centres throughout the country, was recently forced to close after the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnership (ACHAP) withdrew its funding.

ACHAP is a public-private partnership between the Botswana government, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and drug company Merck.

According to Ignatius Katumba Munyaradzi, who was coordinating the organisation's activities in Maun in northwestern Botswana, ACHAP conducted an evaluation in April 2004, which found that the NGO was no longer viable.

ACHAP said COCEPWA's rapid organisational growth could not match its internal capacity to manage, mobilise resources and provide adequate leadership. The NGO employed over 40 people.

"While the organisation is growing, management and monitoring systems are not being developed at the same time to ensure effectiveness, efficiency and good governance," the ACHAP report said.

Helen Ditsebe-Mhone, one of the first people to publicly disclose her HIV positive status in the country, founded the NGO in 2001.

COCEPWA's activities included HIV/AIDS education campaigns, and counselling and treatment support for people living with the virus. The organisation also created an innovative support network through which newly diagnosed women received individual care and companionship from other HIV-positive women.

"Our programmes were designed to counter stigma and encourage people with HIV/AIDS to integrate into communities," said Munyaradzi. "We were surprised when we received faxes telling us to go home."

One fax, signed by national coordinator, Regina Lesole, read: "I hope this letter finds you well in all the respective branches. I am sorry to inform you that we have been encountering funding problems for the past three months. The situation has become so serious that we cannot control it any more."

Lesole also asked branches to secure valuable office equipment, give all their contact numbers to the coordinators, and then go home while the head office in Gaborone continued soliciting for funds.

With close to 3,000 people living with HIV/AIDS (PWA) registered as its clients, the NGO's closure was "really bad for PWAs. Where will they go to get these services?" wondered Christine Stegling, coordinator of the Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS (BONELA).

"The people living with HIV/AIDS were starting to believe in us - we were a kind of a lifeline to them. Many were starting to realise that there is life after HIV/AIDS," Munyaradzi told PlusNews.

Stegling said the problem could have been averted. "We all knew they had issues in terms of financial management - their own governing board failed them. This could have been picked up long ago and stopped before it was too late."

The reluctance among NGOs working in the field to speak out against the misuse of AIDS funding could be attributed in part to the fear of losing credibility and scaring off potential donors.

"We are supportive of COCEPWA and the work they do, but NGOs are responsible for their own administration and they should be careful ... PWAs are not exempt from this," Stegling warned.

COCEPWA's experience is similar to what many other smaller organisations face when receiving donor funding. Limited accounting or management experience makes it difficult to meet stringent donor requirements.

Bagaisi Phaphe-Mabilo, programme officer at the Botswana Network of AIDS Service Organisations (BONASO), called for more capacity building programmes to empower NGOs.

BONASO, an umbrella body that works with over 130 organisations, is implementing a project to train member NGOs in proposal writing, financial management and monitoring and evaluation.

All may not be lost, however, and COCEPWA may still re-open its doors. "They are not going to completely close down - they are working on that. The work they do in the community is significant, it would be a shame to see it lost," Phaphe-Mabilo told PlusNews.

Theme (s): Care/Treatment - PlusNews,

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