Part II: Integrating HIV/AIDS in NEPAD
A. Cross Cutting Issues
There are five broad cross-cutting issues which have relevance for many
activities in NEPAD and it is worth identifying these separately precisely
because of their general importance in all sectors. These are: -
1. Human Capital
The importance of Human Capital for the achievement of sustainable
development is recognized by all developmentÝ practitioners. In part
this
capital is the outcome of social processes undertaken privately, usually
by
families, and in part it is the outcome of formal activities undertaken
by
the state in the public education and training system, and private
institutions such as enterprises and churches. Whatever the source
of the
investment in human capital it is essential for the processes of
development. Because the HIV epidemic is concentrated in the working
age
population, both men and women, and may be affecting disproportionately
those with better education and skills, there is occurring in many
African
countries an immense loss of human capital. Both the stock of human
capital
is suffering attrition, but so isÝ the flow of those who are educated
and
trained. These developments haveÝÝ consequences for all forms of social,
economic and political activity, and thus will have implications for
the
totality of what is proposed by NEPAD.
2. Public Goods
The State in all countries plays a significant role in supporting the
processes of growth and development. It does this in part through regulatory
frameworks and systems of law and the judicial system, but also through
the
direct provision of key services [such as the police, security, educational
and health provision, transport systems and telecommunications etc].
For
these services to function effectively there needs to be a system of
public
administration which is appropriately staffed with relevant skills,
and
managers and supervisors who are experienced and supported in their
tasks.
But again the HIV epidemic is eroding public service capacity through
the
losses of nurses, doctors, accountants, public administrators, teachers,
judges and so on. It follows that all of the NEPAD proposals that depend
on
a functioning and effective public administration and on publicly provided
goods [such as those provided by utilities in the areas of energy,
water
supply, telecommunications and transport] will only be feasible where
resources are devoted to sustaining public capacities.
3. Systems Approaches to Problem Solving
It needs to be noted that the economic and social system in all countries
consists of inter-dependent parts and that the efficiency of the whole
depends on the parts working more or less normally. In other words
the
economic and social system has to a degree be conceptualised as "systemic"
if development plans are to be realized. It is clear from the foregoing
that
because the impact of the HIV epidemic is generalized across different
productive sectors, social, political and economic, that policies and
programmes have to address the linkages ? or they will be less than
effective. For example, many children have been orphaned by the epidemic
[see above] and they and many other children are being increasingly
impoverished by the impact of the epidemic on families.
It follows that policies for educational expansion need to take into
account
the changing needs of the school population, since many families will
simply
not be able to send their children to schools [especially girl children].
Similarly, the educational system cannot carry on business as usual
in that
employers are facing entirely new conditions because of HIV/AIDS in
terms of
recruitment and retention of labour. NEPAD takes no account of the
multiple
ways that HIV/AIDS has effects on system performance and what can be
achieved through new programmes for sustainable development.
It is also essential that the internal matrix of relationships be understood
if there is to be effective programming in any social and economic
area. For
example within a productive sector there exist important economic and
social
relations that need to be sustained for effective performance. Thus
in
commercial agriculture because inputs are secured from external suppliers
[eg. the maintenance of equipment] then losses of skilled labour due
to AIDS
in supplier organizations will adverse affect the productivity of commercial
farmers [who will face higher costs because of equipment failures].
Similar
consequences will affect performance in other sectors, such as education
and
health, where the sectoral performance will be adversely affected because
of
internal losses of capacity due to HIV/AIDS. Policies and programmes
thus
need to address these intra-sectoral relationships if they are to mitigate
the impact of AIDS on economic and social performance.
4. Investment Strategies
There are issues relating to investment strategies. Raising levels of
investment in productive activities are seen as essential for the
achievement of the higher targeted rates of GDP growth and reaching
the
various Millenium Goals [see above]. It is evident that raising rates
of
investment in physical capital and importing embodied technology will
in
themselves be less than successful unless human capital and organizational
capacity can be sustained in the face of HIV and AIDS.
There seems
to be no realization in NEPAD of the fact that labour and capital inputs are
both
essential for development in appropriate proportions, and therefore
that
losses of human capital and erosion of public sector capacity will
significantly reduce the productivity of new investment. Nowhere in
NEPAD is
there any analysis of the effects of the epidemic on new investment,
whether
funded within the country or dependent on external flows of capital.
There
are also related issues of the role of new investment in infrastructure
in
positively increasing HIV transmission [and what might be done to mitigate
this], and of the role that technology can play in reducing some of
the
adverse impacts of the epidemic on labour productivity [eg in agriculture].
5. Governance
NEPAD is premised on the statement and belief that Africa can and should
take responsibility for its current state and for the achievement of
sustainable development for all Africans. This is to be welcomed, although
it is recognized that its achievement will depend crucially on external
flows of resources, both ODA and private capital and technology. In
the past
few years African leaders have begun to show leadership and commitment
to
respond to HIV/AIDS, e.g. through involvement of political leaders
in
National Coordination Bodies.
Further evidence of the changes underway
is
the fact that the African Development Forum in 2000 demonstrated
significantly increased levels of concern about the effects of the
epidemic
on social and economic development. It is, therefore, rather inexplicable
that the only mention of AIDS in NEPAD is in the context [very brief]
of
communicable diseases, as if AIDS were indistinguishable from other
diseases
such as malaria.Ý To address the issues in this way totally fails to
note
the complex ways in which the HIV/AIDS epidemic undermines sustainable
development.
The key challenge now facing African leaders is how to ensure that policies
and programmes are developed for the key strategic sectors identified
by
NEPAD that integrate HIV/AIDS.Ý This is no simple task, and the evidence
from many countries that specific activities to mainstream AIDS across
the
various sectors will take targeted resources and need to build on the
existing knowledge of what works and what does not.
