AEGiS-15IAC: Waiting for the funding giants: Creation and impact of the rapid funding envelope for HIV/AIDS, an innovative multi-donor funding mechanism for civil society organizations in Tanzania.

15th International AIDS Conference

Bangkok, Thailand - July 11-16, 2004

Waiting for the funding giants: Creation and impact of the rapid funding envelope for HIV/AIDS, an innovative multi-donor funding mechanism for civil society organizations in Tanzania.

Int Conf AIDS 2004 Jul 11-16; 15:(abstract no. MoOrE1041)

Severo C, Kimambo AI, Loughran L, Eshun J
Management Sciences for Health, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

ISSUES: At the 2002 Global AIDS Conference, delegates from developing countries showed that delays in accessing new funding from the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria, the World Bank, and others were a barrier to rapid scale-up of HIV/AIDS programs. Getting funds to civil society organizations proved particularly challenging. In Tanzania, negotiations and planning for massive funding for all sectors began in 2000, but funds will be released in 2004.

DESCRIPTION: The Rapid Funding Envelope for HIV/AIDS (RFE) was created in July 2002 by the Tanzania Commission for AIDS and eight bilateral donors to advance the civil society response. The RFE is innovative for 1) rapid start-up (the first grants were awarded in December 2002); 2) rapid grant-making using electronic communications to exchange information, application forms, proposals in 3-month cycles (880 NGOs from even the remotest districts have received applications to date); and 3) local governance by donor/leadership partners. The RFE has completed 3 rounds of grant making and approved $3.5 million to 23 civil society institutions and partnerships. The first 11 projects will be completed by July 2004. Originally designed as a temporary mechanism, the RFE may be transformed into a permanent fund for flexible grant making under local control.

LESSONS LEARNED: Rapid, responsible grant making to civil society organizations using electronic technology is possible in developing countries through local partnership mechanisms for national policy leaders and donors. Recommendation: The RFE for HIV/AIDS can be replicated in other countries seeking to accelerate funding of the local civil society response.

Keywords: AEGIS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, HIV Seropositivity, Organizations, HIV Infections, Societies, Developing Countries, Financing, Organized, United Nations, Financial Management, Tanzania, Health Planning, United States, economics

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