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Seminar on the impact of HIV/AIDS on land reform in KwaZulu-Natal
Hosted by the Southern African Regional Poverty Network and the Centre for HIV/AIDS Networking University of Natal, Durban
Scott Drimie
and
Deborah Heustice
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[Briefing note]
[Seminar proceedings]
[Delegates]
[Annexures]
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Seminar proceedings
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5. The challenge: Developing a "way forward"
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5.1. A "way forward": A working group to integrate relevant data for policy
purposes
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The group identified a need to integrate information about HIV/AIDS and its impact on land reform and agriculture meaningfully into policy level work in order to ameliorate the devastating consequences of the pandemic. In essence, policies needed to be better informed and have practical plans of action to effectively take cognisance of HIV/AIDS.
The real challenge was seen to be taking information that already exists (such as that within the presentations) and then knowing how to integrate it into policy for each sector. This challenge was coupled with the need to identify gaps in the knowledge and the questions that needed to be asked in order to develop pragmatic solutions to the challenges facing land practitioners.
The seminar identified a need for the development of an information baseline for sectors involved in land reform and rural development that would allow each to speak from a position of experience and reflection at regular forums on the impact of HIV/AIDS on their line functions. This would allow for sector appropriate yet co-ordinated interventions.
As a starting point it was felt that there was a need for an overview of what the DLA and NDA were doing in response to the problems of HIV/AIDS. This synopsis of the current situation was seen as a necessary step in starting to develop appropriate policy and interventions. Such an overview suggests that officials from both departments, at provincial and national level, meet with other relevant stakeholders such as NGOs and the Department of Health, to critically evaluate what they were doing and what strategies were required.
It is therefore suggested that a working group needs to be constituted to take this process forward on a regular basis. This working group should be convened by the HIV/AIDS desk with director-general level support from both NDA and DLA. There is a need to communicate the issues discussed at the seminar to top levels of DLA and PDA. It is important to communicate to management that key people from land reform, land tenure and agriculture were at this seminar and that they all supported its decisions for a multisectoral collaborative approach to developing and implementing policies dealing with the impact of HIV/AIDS. In addition, there was a need to stress the importance and urgency of integrating HIV/AIDS into land and agriculture policies and programmes in an HIV prevalent society. This would serve to build support from top decision makers at both NDA and DLA.
Once this support was secured, the working group was to be convened by the HIV/AIDS desk. This group would largely consist of interested participants at the seminar and additional expertise in the land reform, health, agriculture, and development sectors. Interested parties from other groups from within civil society and the private sector were also to be invited to participate.
This group would set out to collate and integrate information from the participating institutions, in particular DLA and NDA, as one of its central functions. It was suggested that a facility required for the storage and dissemination of the information could be available at HIVAN. The electronic facility would act as a clearing-house of collected information and would be accessible for wider dissemination. An additional challenge to the seminar participants was to actively source information and deposit it in this storage and dissemination facility.
The information would then be available to influence policy through dissemination to political stakeholders and the regional sectors. Therefore the need to integrate HIV/AIDS into every aspect of the DLA and NDA work could be initiated and practically supported
A need was also identified for a mechanism to pull together/co-ordinate sectoral information so that it is transformed from information into informed action. The HIV/AIDS desk with capacity and support from the national departments involved and the working group should take up this challenge. It is suggested that the relevant personnel assess the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy as a possible forum to extend their activities. The desk was therefore faced with the challenge of mobilising the working group, to develop appropriate forums and to build on the support from national level officials.
This national or provincial level process needed to be complemented by similar processes closer to the people both implementing and benefiting from land reform. For example there is the need to work with planners as to when and how to integrate HIV/AIDS into the project cycle. Policy cannot be developed in isolation of the “on the ground” activities. This suggestion is developed below.
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