Institutional Review of the Malawi National AIDS Commission
Agulhas reviewed the institutional arrangements of the National AIDS Commission in Malawi in the light of its core role of co-ordinating the national response to HIV/AIDS.
The assignment analysed the institutional context for NAC, its governance, internal management systems performance and constraints. The NAC’s task of co-ordinating the national response to HIV/AIDS is great. It requires the ability to both develop and guide policy and implementation across a range of governmental and non-governmental actors. The NAC is the multisectoral co-ordinator and its partners in the public, private and non-governmental arenas are the programme implementers. This applies in particular to the Ministry of Health as the “first among equals” having the role of leading the health response to HIV/AIDS. International learning indicates the importance of having sufficient central capacity in a NAC to liaise with, monitor and support partners’ implementation, across all sectors.
Donors are seeking to support the National HIV/AIDS policy through a common funding framework and have adopted key elements of a Sector Wide Approach (SWAP). NAC has achieved a great deal, arguably more than most comparable organisations would do in the timeframe.
Areas of Expertise:
Aid policy
- Aid effectiveness
Governance
- Institutional change and Capacity building
