UNAIDS: The First 10 Years

MalawiUNAIDS adopted a two-pronged strategy. First,to reinforce the grassroots response, UNAIDSoffered direct financial and technical support tocivil society groups. This was a significant step:a few of these, such as the Malawi Network ofPeople living with HIV, an umbrella organizationfor groups of HIV-positive people, wouldeventually play an important role in the NationalAIDS Commission and in the national responseto AIDS.233Second, UNAIDS and the Theme Group alsoadvocated for a stronger accountability systemand more attention by the government toHIV. These efforts resulted in the creation of agovernment Cabinet Committee on AIDS in1998. Led by Vice-president Justin Malewezi, apowerful AIDS advocate, and comprising all theCabinet Ministers, the Cabinet Committee onAIDS had the mandate to build a broad-based,multisectoral, national response to the disease.From the year the Cabinet Committee wascreated, AIDS was increasingly mentioned in thepublic statements of the President, ministers andmembers of Parliament 14 .Preventing thetransmission of HIVinfection from mothersto their babies is a majorpriority in all countries.UNAIDSWhile the broad-based consultations thatinformed the development of the first NationalStrategic Framework in 1998 and 1999 were primarily intended as a tool for nationalplanning, they also helped to break the silence surrounding AIDS and hence to involve agreater number of Malawians in the response to the pandemic.… to help build political and financial momentumIt is perhaps not surprising that in 2000, the year in which AIDS attracted so muchglobal attention through the UN Security Council Resolution, AIDS was put high onthe agenda of the Consultative Group, the forum where all the donors meet with theWorld Bank and the International Monetary Fund to coordinate efforts for a country’sadjustment and reform efforts. Malewezi, Head of the Cabinet Committee, chaireda session where he convinced donors to pledge funds for Malawi’s first NationalStrategic Plan. Malawi made a proposal to the Global Fund in 2001 and received US$196 million on the first round.14Ibid.