Swaziland
The Kingdom of Swaziland, with a total population estimated at 1,032,000 people, has the highest rate of HIV infection in the world. It is estimated that at least one in five adults is living with HIV/AIDS in Swaziland. In February 1999, His Majesty King Mswati III declared HIV/AIDS a national disaster, and a national HIV/AIDS Crisis Management and Technical Committee was formed to develop strategies to tackle this disaster. Recognition has been given by the City Councils in Swaziland to the fact that HIV/AIDS is more than a health issue alone - it is also a development issue and thus requires involvement of all sectors of society.
In view of the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS with its unprecedented effects on socio-economic development, a strategy for a response at the local level is of critical importance, and the local authorities have redefined their mandate to include responding to HIV/AIDS in a multi-sectoral manner. The cities and towns are administrative focal points for the regions and localities and, as such, serve people from the surrounding rural areas in addition to the urban dwellers.
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Total Population: 1,032,000 (2006)
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With support from the Swaziland National Association of Local Authorities (SNALA) and Local Authorities Managers Association of Swaziland (LAMAS) the Swaziland Chapter of the Alliance was launched in January 2000, and a Declaration on HIV/AIDS was endorsed by all the local authorities. The AMICAALL Programme was launched in 2001, a constitution was developed and approved, and activities initiated in all of the municipalities. In March 2006, AMICAALL Swaziland signed a second grant agreement with the Africa Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) worth US$1 million. The grant was awarded to AMICAALL Swaziland after successful implementation of an initial US$1.04 million grant from ACBF during 2001 – 2005. Under the first grant, ACBF was pleased with AMICAALL Swaziland’s activities to decentralise the national response to the AIDS epidemic through improved mechanisms and coordination capacities at the municipal level. AMICAALL Swaziland’s activities initially focused on advocacy, programme development and technical capacity development of municipalities and urban communities to mount local responses. More recent activities have targeted service development in all 12 municipalities. Current HIV-related activities include: prevention, home-based care and other support, voluntary, counseling and testing (VCT), feeding centres, and support to orphans and vulnerable youth, including vocational training. AMICAALL Swaziland has made significant progress in scaling up the local response to the epidemic. The national government has designated AMICAALL Swaziland as the lead organisation for facilitating local government responses to the epidemic within urban areas, and this was included in the Swaziland National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS 2000 – 2005.
In 2006, AMICAALL Swaziland completed a video documenting activities and achievements with respect to municipal action on AIDS. |
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In addition to SNALA and LAMAS, initial support for development of AMICAALL Swaziland came from UNDP, UN APP and the Africa Capacity Development Foundation. AMICAALL Swaziland, working with local authorities and community HIV/AIDS Action Committees, now has over 30 international and local partners collaborating on a wide range of activities. Some of the partners include:
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Mr
Rudolph Maziya |
