Impact of these changes on the Alliance
Changes and developments in the HIV epidemic, the response and in society have impacted on the direction and emphasis of the Alliance. In 1993, our emphasis was on a technical, project-driven approach. We offered a vision and a way of working that would put communities at the centre of the response by enabling them to understand and respond to HIV.
Our original goal was ‘to provide an effective multilateral channel for donors to support a cost-effective and speedy international non-governmental response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic’. The central goal of our first strategic plan (1993–1996) was to transfer funds from northern donors to southern NGOs. To achieve this, we aimed to:
- significantly increase the quantity of non-governmental organisation activity on HIV
- improve the quality, concentration and sustainability of non-governmental organisation activity on HIV
- make sure non-governmental organisations had better access to flexible funds and technical skills.
By 1997, these goals had developed into a new strategic framework that emphasised our roles in strategic activities, such as building capacity, enhancing quality, learning and disseminating lessons, and using our influence to make more resources available, rather than simply channelling funds.
Key features of the 1997–1999 strategy included:
- an emphasis on technical support (including skills building and organisational development), rather than financial contributions
- an emphasis on acting as a catalyst for activities to expand, rather than directly sustaining them|
- a commitment to experiment with new ways of working, such as developing and testing tools, research and advocacy, in order to influence practice.
This new strategy took into account the fact that most donors were not simply looking for a way of channelling funds from around the globe into local communities. Donors and multilateral agencies were also developing a growing appreciation for our significant body of knowledge and practice about influencing and improving the ways communities respond to HIV.
By 2000, the Alliance had helped bring about a greater recognition of the role of civil society. The following year, the way that international funding for HIV was set up changed too, as more money went directly to southern countries and non-governmental organisations through mechanisms such as the World Bank Multi-Country HIV/AIDS Programme (MAP) and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM). This had a big impact on the next phase of our development.
Our third strategic plan (2001–2004) proposed that we intensify our efforts, with a stronger focus on making an impact on the epidemic by:
- reducing the spread of HIV and reducing its impact
- contributing to sustainability and scaling up activities
- making a concrete impact on the policies and programmes of other key stakeholders in the struggle against the epidemic.
As the organisations within the Alliance learned valuable lessons from their experience on the ground, our strategy as a whole evolved and our direction strengthened and clarified. The idea at the core, however, remained the same.
Our fourth strategic plan (2005–2007) proposed four strategic directions. The first three addressed what we we would do and the fourth how we would do it. ‘What’ we do is to enable communities to help reduce the spread of HIV and lessen the impact of AIDS. ‘How’ we do that is by developing a system of national linking organisations, supported by our secretariat in the United Kingdom, which has global and community outreach. Together, the organisations and initiatives within our system combine to create something far greater than the sum of our parts. The four strategic directions were to:
- increase coverage of effective community-focused HIV action
- strengthen the leadership and capacity of civil society to enable it to participate effectively in national responses to HIV
- influence the national and international policy and financial environment to enable more effective civil society responses to HIV
- build up an alliance of national linking organisations working effectively together.
To achieve our aims for 2010, four strategic directions build heavily on the experience of the strategic framework 2005–2007 and recent trends in the global HIV environment. The Alliance's fifth strategic plan (2008–2010) proposes the following four strategic directions:
- Scale up quality responses: deliver scaled-up, quality community-based HIV programmes and increase access to health and social services.
- Strengthen civil society: increase civil society capacity to implement effective community responses.
- Improve HIV policies: strengthen communities’ ability to influence national programming and national and international HIV policies.
- Build an effective Alliance of national linking organisations working effectively together.
