HIV/Aids Africa

Namibia adopts UNDAF to compliment development planning
Namibia has adopted the United Nations Development
Assistance Framework (UNDAF) as a complementary planning process of the UN
system to its own national development planning system. The government has also
appealed to the various UN agencies to continue their role in assisting Namibia
in mobilising international support and resources towards the national efforts
to tackle the challenges of development.The UNDAF, which will run from
2006-2010, seeks to guide the integration of programming among UN Agencies
working in Namibia. Then they can help the government and civil society to reach
Namibia’s economic and social development goals, outlined in Vision 2030, the
Millennium Development Goals, NDP2 and other international commitments signed by
the government. It provides the framework for the UN System to respond
effectively to national development priorities and objectives.The first UNDAF,
which was approved by cabinet in 2000, covered the period from 2001 to 2005. The
second UNDAF, which covers the period from 2006 to 2010 will address the
development challenges related to increased vulnerability of households and the
erosion of institutional capacity caused by the impact of HIV/AIDS.According to
a statement this week, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said it
estimated that about US$44.7 million would be required to achieve these UNDAF
outcomes.?The framework lays a foundation for co-operation among the UN system,
government and other developing partners through the preparation of common
country programme outcomes.?

I was thinking of late about how we Africans, are always on the receiving
end; we receive funding for HIV/AIDS programmes, for education, for
infrastructure development and a zillion other things. But most of the time this
money is used for something other then the purpose it was intended for. And then
we still have the audacity to ask for more when that money is up. Where is the
?African pride? in that? We have some of the most corrupt countries, leaders who
are in power for what feels like a thousand years and while they live the good
life, the living conditions of the citizens continue to deteriorate. In
Namibia there is a huge disparity between people who live under the poverty line
of US$1 a day and those with a high income. The country?s education system is a
joke and as experts have been saying for almost 20 years, produces graduates who
are highly unemployable. After school most of the youngsters who fail grade 10
or leave school after grade 12, either end up on the streets or in jail. Some
who are lucky, find jobs straight after school.It is estimated that the
unemployment rate in the country is at 40% currently. Government has always
encouraged young people to do something for themselves and as a prominent
businessmen said recently, it is not only the business of government or that of
the business fraternity to create jobs. Just the other day a young man, who is
seemingly healthy and is able to work, asked me for N$5.00 to buy bread because
he has been hungry for two days. Now this being January and me being broke, I
did not take kindly to being asked for money by a young man who just has to get
off his lazy butt and get a job. And that was exactly what I told him before I
felt guilty and gave him the money anyway. This got me thinking. Why is it that
Africans or black people for that matter should always be at the receiving end?
Why is it that we can never do something for ourselves? In my opinion, we
like taking the easy way out. Why work if you can get a minimum of N$50 a day by
just standing on a corner? I don?t know if this kind of things only happen
to me, but anyway my friend and I was in a clothing retail store when a man
started making small talk. You know the usual, ?how are you, where do you
work?… that kind of thing. Then he starts explaining how he needs N$25 to pay
for a T-shirt that he really likes. He wanted us to lend it to him. Why would
you want to buy something that you cannot afford? Brother if you cannot afford
it, buy something cheaper! We also have to give credit to those who try and do
something for themselves. This week, I felt the urge to visit Babylon, one of
Windhoek?s fastest growing informal settlements. I?ve seen people for whom it is
a day to day struggle to live. But they get up and do something about it. I?ve
seen people who sell any and everything from sweets, cattle intestines,
home-made toys, eggs to live chickens. Yes, selling live chickens can be a
viable business, I?ve heard. Why can?t all of us just embrace an entrepreneurial
spirit and do something for ourselves? Surely, it takes a lot of hard work and
effort to run even the smallest businesses and most of us won?t become owners of
flourishing businesses. But it is about time we stand up and do something for
ourselves. Why do we always have to take and take? Aren?t you getting tired of
it? Let?s take charge of our lives and do something. Even if it means selling
live chickens… We can?t all sit around and wait for someone or something to
save us. It is time to step up and change your life, nobody will do it for
you.

Pic Mubita
President Hifikepunye Pohamba said that a good
education system could help reduce the technological gap between Africa and the
rest of the world.He said blocks like the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) can be used to harmonise educational systems so as to help Africa’s
technological advancement.?The time is now for us to take stock of our
educational system,? Pohamba said during the graduation ceremony of the
University of Namibia (UNAM) held in Windhoek last week.The President said the
basic education system was not enough to meet the social and economic challenges
facing the country. He called on UNAM to study the issue and help come up with
solutions for the economic and social problems facing the country, such as
drought.?These are the challenges our country faces for which we have to find
solutions,? he said.Pohamba also addressed the HIV/AIDS issue and urged students
to take precautions in order to avoid contracting the disease.?It should not be
old people burying young people. This was not the case when I grew up?, he
said.The ceremony saw 1300 students awarded certificates, diplomas and degrees.

Prime
Minister Nahas Angula believes that infrastructural development is key in
achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as it facilitates economic growth
and social progress.?Namibia in particular and Africa as whole needs good roads,
schools and hospitals, as well as reliable and efficient water services,
electricity grids and telecommunication networks; while information and
communications technologies must also be a bigger part of Africa?s future. These
remain the building blocks for job creation and the ability to compete in global
markets,? he said during the launch of the MDGs? progress report in Windhoek
hosted by the National Planning Commission (NPC).He said Namibia and the whole
world continue to face complex challenges that are reversing economic gains and
thereby negatively affecting the achievements of MDGs? targets.He said the
current global economic crisis will affect growth, trade and financial flows but
also the fight against poverty, HIV/AIDS and reduced developmental
assistance.Angula said the increased maternal and under five mortality is of
great concern not only to Namibia but also to the global community.?This will
require a sustained and wide ranging effort over a period that extends until
2015 and beyond,? he said.Angula said the MDGs are the most broadly supported
specific poverty reduction targets ever established.Acting UN resident
coordinator Joyce Mends-Cole said at the same function that that in the light of
the current global financial crises and the recent floods in the north-central
and northeastern, Namibia has had a difficult start to 2009.?This will affect
the government?s response and in turn the ability of Namibia?s development
partners to assist,? she said.Mocks Shivute, permanent secretary said the
report, which was launched this week is the second publication on progress in
achieving the MDGs.?The first MDGs Report for Namibia was produced in 2004. This
second report comes at an opportune time when we are just over halfway to 2015,?
he said.

The African Disaster
Management & Relief Expo and Conference 2001 is to take place in
Johannesburg, South Africa in October. Some of the world?s leading experts in
the field will be addressing the conference, and more than 30 crisis and relief
suppliers have already booked exhibition space.The supply of goods and services
to relief projects in Africa has in 2000, cost the United Nations Children?s
Fund (UNICEF) alone N$64 billion for huge quantities of products for
distribution in sub-Saharan Africa.The conference and exhibition, to be held
from 23 to 25 October, at the Kyalami Exhibition Centre, will be Africa?s first
gathering of implementers, intermediaries, suppliers and policy
makers.Conference organiser Bette McNaughton said it was essential that Africans
were prepared to manage disasters whenever they occurred.?Every part of the
world is constantly plagued by disaster ? and Africa is no exception. And
disaster can come in many forms not just those caused by war or famine. Recently
the continent has seen sports stadium disasters such as Ellis Park in
Johannesburg, and in Accra, Ghana as well as flooding in Mocambique.??As
Africans we need to be ready to respond and act speedily and with positive
results, by having systems, supplies and trained personnel in place,? said
McNaughton.The DM&R conference will address such issues as marine disaster
containment, fire prevention, trauma and crowd control at mass gatherings,
mapping of flood areas and flood prevention and HIV/AIDS, and speakers include
the world?s top experts in their respective fields.Among them are Geoffrey
Needham, director of Marine Services and Energy Response Brokerage,
environmental consultant Andre Tomlinson, Dr Clive Evian of Aids Management, and
emergency medical services consultant, Tom Watson.Exhibitors include
representatives from all facets of disaster management, ranging from first aid
companies through to suppliers of environmentally friendly flood prevention
systems.

Namibia may
have 180,000 orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) in 2010, compared to 142,777
in 2004, Minister of Education, Nangolo Mbumba, said this week.He said this to
mark the launch of the AIDS Awareness Week, organised by the Ministry of
Education, and the Day of the African Child, which was commemorated under the
theme ?Reduction in Youth Vulnerability?.A number of initiatives have been
undertaken to ensure that OVCs attend school and benefit from various support
programmes such as counselling, access to social grants and the school-feeding
programme.Mbumba said, in order to strengthen these existing programmes, the
ministry formulated and launched the Education Sector Policy for OVCs in August
2008.The policy addresses key issues related to how to address school-related
expenses, providing health and nutritional support, ensuring a safe and
non-discriminatory environment, providing counselling support, providing
training to teachers to effectively support such learners, and engaging
community and other partners to address and mitigate learners?
vulnerability.Mbumba said that the policy also sets out duties and
responsibilities, implying that Namibians all have a role to play in prevention
and mitigation efforts.?The impact of HIV/AIDS being another devastating
societal problem, is threatening the survival of the youthful nation, especially
as the risks of unprotected sex and therefore the likelihood of HIV infection
can be aggravated by the intake of alcohol and drug abuse by the youth,? he
said.

Oshipala Trust for
Senior Citizens
Nujoma?s initiative works for the ?invisibles?
The need for support for the elderly was confirmed
late last year when former president Nujoma relaunched the Oshipala Trust for
Senior Citizens. This trust is administered by Oshipala Investments, which, in
turn, is headed by Jaco Botha, an investment advisor.Elderly people often find
themselves in a predicament due to the effects of HIV/AIDS. Unlike the younger
generation, they are not directly infected by the disease but on them falls the
burden of catering for the terminally ill and caring for orphans while, at the
same time, they have to care for themselves and run their own households.Botha
told the Economist that the trust first resorted under the auspices of the
health ministry but that it was later decided to make it an independent entity.
The funding has come mostly from the Social Welfare Fund for Older People that
was launched by President Sam Nujoma in 1999. Despite accumulating capital
through donations and grants, the fund was not active until its relaunch late
last year. Botha said the trust followed a strategy of generating its own
funding. For instance, the trust has recently successfully tendered for a school
food programme under which it feeds 108 000 learners on a daily basis. The
profit from this operation goes to the trust.The Oshipala Trust works towards
creating an enabling, conducive environment, in which the needs and aspirations
of Namibia?s elder citizens are adequately addressed.To date, the Trust has
focused its activities on the development of products that alleviate poverty and
the burdens of day-to-day existence, as well as providing assistance on an
ad-hoc basis when an immediate need becomes apparent.The first initiative of the
Oshipala Trust has been to source suitable products to supplement the dietary
requirements of the elderly and their dependents. HIV/AIDS has had a marked
impact on agricultural productivity, and the Trust has found that food security
and the ability of the elderly to produce enough to satisfy their dietary
requirements was threatened. The key aim of the Oshipala Trust in this regard is
to provide the product as food aid to the elderly, either to supplement their
own diets or as dietary supplements for their dependents.After investigations
into available formulations in the region, a product similar to well-know
commercial brand Pro-Nutro was identified. The product is suitable for children,
the sick and the elderly. It requires no cooking, and needs only to be mixed
with milk or water.A packing plant has been opened in Windhoek. The product will
be further distributed through a network of regional offices administered and
operated by the Ministry of Health and Social Services.A second initiative seeks
to reduce the burden of labour involved in collecting firewood for cooking
through introduction, distribution and marketing of a low-cost briquette-burning
stove, and briquettes that burn for 15 minutes. A possible spin-off of this
initiative is reduction in the incidences of deforestation and desertification.A
further initiative proposes to introduce ?stamp mealies? in a semi-prepared and
cooked form. In this state, they require only five minutes to cook.Recent
initiatives to assist communities of the elderly in immediate need include a
donation of the food supplement to various old age homes in Namibia, and to the
San community in the Oshikoto region.

Pic:Poverty
The government?s Poverty Monitoring Strategy (PMS)
was launched to identify and propose the need for Poverty Reduction Programmes
and projects for inclusion in the budget.?One of the challenges facing the world
today is the extreme levels of poverty amidst abundance of wealth and Namibia is
no exception. Poverty is not only about consumption of goods and services but
includes deprivation of opportunities and choices most basic for human
development, such as opportunity to lead a long, healthy, creative life and
enjoy a decent standard of living?, said Helmut Angula, the director general of
the National Planning Commission (NPC) at the launch of the Poverty Monitoring
Strategy (PMS) at the Windhoek Country Club on Monday, 6 June.The PMS aims to
mobilise human and material resources, to serve as clearing house for all
Poverty Reduction Programmes and to ensure that vulnerable groups are given
priority. PMS has been developed to ensure that information on poverty is
collected, analysed and disseminated on a regular basis to inform policy
decisions and programme implementation. The Poverty Reduction Strategy was
introduced to monitor the progress made in poverty reduction and to assist with
the creation of accountability in terms of the realisation of targets and the
achievement of goals. Among the objectives of monitoring are the need to better
understand the nature and dynamics of poverty in Namibia, the periodical
tracking of changes in poverty outcomes. This could result in an informed review
of the National Poverty Reduction Action Programme (NPRAP) every two years and
the linking of budget allocations to poverty reduction priorities.According to
Angula, ?in today?s world of technological advancement there are millions of
people who go to bed without food, who are excluded from the world of knowledge
and many more who die from preventable diseases. The scourge of the HIV/AIDS
pandemic is aggravating the already daunting poverty situation in Sub-Saharan
Africa in particular … While some Namibians enjoy a standard of living
equivalent to that of any advance country, there are many out there especially
in our rural areas and informal settlements who struggle daily for survival. The
gap between the ?haves and have nots? is quite big and there is an urgent need
to bridge it, if the peace and harmony we enjoy today is to continue?.He went on
to say that the role of poor people themselves in monitoring how development
programmes are impacting on their well-being cannot be overemphasized. In this
regard, the Participatory Poverty Assessments, which have began in the regions
to incorporate the perspectives of poor and vulnerable people into policy
formulation and programme design is a step in the right direction. These
consultative processes should include a mechanism for beneficiaries of
programmes to monitor progress.

Collaborating with development partners is an important step towards the establishment of an effective national monitoring and evaluation system that will assess progress made towards minimising the spread of HIV/AIDS and its impact on the population.The National Multi-Sectoral Monitoring and Evaluation plan for Namibia was launched on 25 September.Officiating at the launch, Minister of Health and Social Services Dr Richard Kamwi said the plan is a multi-sectoral approach and is mandatory to mount an effective national response. An improved ability to monitor and evaluate the HIV/AIDS impact is needed for a greater understanding of the epidemic?s impact at all levels. ?We shall endeavour to provide care and support to more people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, but we shall also see to it that fewer people pick up risky practices,? he said. The medium term plan III 2004 – 2009 (National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan) provides institutional framework and policy guidance to the national response according to five component areas of enabling environment, prevention, access to treatment, care and support services, impact mitigation services, integrated and coordinated programme management at all levels. Kamwi said there are various opportunities and challenges presented by the growing diversity of funding mechanisms and increased partnerships for HIV/AIDS actions: the need to further clarify roles and relationships in the HIV/AIDS response; and the urgent need of local actions and the imperatives of an enabling policy environment. According to Kamwi, using these three pillars as the overall focus, a variety of ways can be used to bring together coordinating entities, partnerships and funding mechanisms for concerted action. He said the National Multi-Sectoral Monitoring and Evaluation plan places an additional responsibility on the shoulders of all organisations and individuals that are implementing HIV interventions. Kamwi paid tribute to the media for raising awareness on HIV/AIDS. Salvator Niyonzima, the UNAIDS country coordinator for Namibia, said the establishment of the Monitoring and Evaluation plan is an important milestone in the response to HIV/AIDS in Namibia. He congratulated the ministry of health and the Response Monitoring and Evaluation Unit for leading this effort successfully.

(Misanet) – Namibia’s Ministry of Health and Social Services received a donation of 100 bicycles and 100,000 condoms from the People’s Republic of China. The donation is to enable the government to educate people in the remote parts of the country about the disease, according to a media report. Health Minister Dr Libertina Amathila said that her ministry had considered providing house-to-house counselling for people in rural areas affected by HIV-AIDS in the past, but was unable to do so due to a lack of resources.Amathila said: “We need people who can visit villagers in the most remote areas of our country in order to fight the spread of the disease. We want villagers to be informed fully about HIV-AIDS and as a result my ministry has started a pilot programme whereby the use of bicycles will be a necessity.” She stated that due to the confidential nature of the programme, counselling would be done by young people, who were known in their specific communities. “We have already trained 30 people in the Caprivi region and we are currently training 50 people in Ohangwena while a further 50 will soon start the course in the Oshana region,” she added. In addition to counselling on HIV-AIDS, the counsellors will be expected to collect data on AIDS orphans and people suffering from other illnesses such as tuberculosis and malaria.The aim of the programme is to cover all the 13 regions in the country within a space of a year, starting with the regions where access to proper health centres is more difficult.