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Background
The Global Fund Round 8 funding proposal was the product of
extensive consultation during the proposal development
process. Civil society organizations and private sector
organizations shared their strengths and challenges and
collectively proposed different strategies for improving
local capacity and for positioning themselves in a more
prominent leadership role within the multi-sectoral response
to HIV & AIDS in Lesotho.
Some of the information used during these consultations
originated from the work of the Civil Society Support
Consultant, an 18-month project supported through the World
Bank during 2007 and 2008. The consultant conducted a rapid
assessment at the beginning of the assignment period.
Subsequently, the consultant conducted in-depth capacity
assessments with five main national umbrella bodies working
in HIV & AIDS. The findings of this work indicated
significant capacity gaps between international NGOs and
local NGOs in terms of organizational capacity to design and
implement effective HIV & AIDS programs. There were
different reasons for this, including the lack of
sustainable funding sources to allow local organizations to
retain their staff and to build up their capacity through
the implementation of successful programs. Local
organizations mainly derived their support from short-term,
donor funded initiatives. Once the initiative was over and
the funds spent, staff left in search of work elsewhere and
the organization became essentially dormant.
One other reason for capacity gaps was the lack of a shared
vision on what capacity meant and how it could be built and
maintained. Equally absent was a long-term, sector-wide
vision of how to develop sustained capacity. Many different
entities offered capacity-building support but this tended
to be short-term and to rely heavily on training workshops
and not other capacity development strategies. Finally,
staff in organizations who received training were either
unable to use their new skills because of lack of resources
or searched out more stable employment elsewhere.
It was against this background that the civil society
components of the Round 8 funding proposal were developed.
In particular, the Round 8 proposal was meant to achieve the
following:
- To develop and implement a five-year, comprehensive
capacity-building strategy for civil society;
- To strengthen local organizations, particularly
local umbrella bodies, with the provision of stable,
long-term funding coupled within intensive, long-term
capacity development programs;
- In strengthening local umbrella bodies, to enhance
the capacity of these entities to respond to the needs
of their members and to provide appropriate programmatic
and technical support to them as they implement local
level initiatives;
- To improve the coordination of the civil society
response to HIV & AIDS by strengthening and improving
umbrella bodies and encourage all local groups to have
an affiliation with a relevant body;
- To foster partnerships between well-developed
organizations, international or national, and national
umbrella bodies for skills transfer and support;
- To link capacity-building activities to well-funded,
relevant projects at the local level that are based on a
best-practice approach.
The expected impact of the Round 8 grant on civil society
was to position local organizations at the forefront of the
sector as effective leaders in delivering high-quality
programs in response to HIV & AIDS. |
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