Implementation of regional and international HIV prevention - SAfAIDS

11.0 MECHANISMS FOR CO-ORDINATION OFDEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCEMost African countries receive bilateral or multilateral development assistance that contributestowards the realisation of public HIV and AIDS service delivery objectives. There is a consensusthat, though such assistance can make a major contribution to achieving universal realisationof economic and social rights, there is a need for the quality of assistance to improve. Thishas been recognised by the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness 11 of March 2005. The ParisDeclaration expresses the global commitment for donors and recipient countries to supportthe direction for reforming aid delivery and management to achieve improved effectivenessand results. Also relevant are the Guiding Principles on Civil Service Reform 12 , adopted in 1995by the Special Programme of Assistance for Africa (SPA), a group of aid agencies co-ordinatedby the World Bank.Both countries are signatory to the Paris Declaration on AID Effectiveness. The two countrieshave over the years expressed their willingness to support effective delivery and managementof development assistance. They both endorsed the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) on theacceleration and intensification of the implementation of the Paris Declaration on Aid andEffectiveness. The Accra Agenda for Action also acknowledges the role of civil organisations inadvancing aid effectiveness. Thus they are important as development actors, and also have animportant role in promoting accountability and in demanding results. Clause 16 specifies theintention of donors and Governments to building more effective and inclusive partnerships fordevelopments. They acknowledge that partnerships are most effective when they fully harnessthe energy, skill and experience of all development actors - bilateral donors, global funds, CSOsand the private sector.A comprehensive donor harmonisation framework that operates at national level wasdeveloped in Zambia in 2004. The framework is articulated in the Harmonisation in PracticeInitiative (HIP), which involves a Memorandum of Understanding that was signed in April 2004,initially by the Government with 15 development partners operating in the country. The MoUprovides the platform for developing the harmonisation of cooperation by developmentpartners and alignment to Government procedures and processes. The harmonisationframework addresses issues of common procurement and disbursement guidelines, pooledfunding, common monitoring and evaluation indicators of programmes, timely disbursementof donor commitments and reduction of bank accounts used to manage donor funds, amongother things. It is within the context of the harmonisation framework that the developmentpartners have agreed to prepare a Joint Assistance Strategy for Zambia (JASZ) covering theperiod 2006 to 2010, instead of independent planning instruments. The Bank Group, as asignatory to the Rome and Paris Declaration on Donor Harmonisation, actively participated inthe JASZ process between 2005 and 2007.11 The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness 2005 expresses the international community’s consensuson the direction for reforming aid delivery and management to achieve improved effectiveness and results. TheDeclaration is grounded on five mutually reinforcing principles: Ownership-Partner countries exercise effectiveleadership over their development policies and strategies, and co-ordinate development actions; Alignment-Donors base their overall support on partner countries’ national development strategies, institutions, and procedures;Harmonization-Donors’ actions are more harmonized, transparent, and collectively effective; Managingfor results-Managing resources and improving decision making for development results; Mutual accountability:Donors and partners are accountable for development results.12 http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/CAFRAD/UNPAN010830.pdf51