Eastern Cape AIDS Council

About ECAC

The mandate of the ECAC | The Terms of Reference for the ECAC | District AIDS Councils | Multisectoral Approach

The Mandate of ECAC

The mandate of ECAC is derived from the National Strategy Plan document. Within the Province, ECAC is the highest body that advises government on all matters relating to HIV and AIDS.

It has the following major functions:

Advising the government on HIV and AIDS /STI policy;
Advocating for the effective involvement of sectors and organizations in implementing programmes and strategies;
Monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the National and Provincial HIV/AIDS Plan in all sectors of society;
Creating and strengthening partnerships for an expanded provincial response amongst all sectors;
Mobilising resources for the implementation of the AIDS programmes; and
Recommending appropriate research.

The Terms of Reference for the ECAC

In terms of this mandate, the Terms of Reference of ECAC are:

To advise the provincial government on policy and HIV and AIDS related matters;
To assist in the development of the annual Provincial HIV and AIDS Plan;
To mobilize organs of civil society behind a common Plan of Action (Provincial HIV and AIDS Plan) through effective communication with all relevant stakeholders;
To mobilize political will and commitment behind the Provincial HIV and AIDS plan;
To promote functional integration between Government Departments and across spheres of government with respect to holistic and comprehensive approach to HIV and AIDS;
To co-ordinate and focus the efforts of government and civil society organisations vis-à-vis HIV and AIDS interventions;
To monitor the implementation of the Provincial HIV and AIDSS Plan to ensure policy compliance and performance monitoring of targets;
To develop capacity in the District and Local AIDS Councils to enable them to fulfill their mandate in implementing the National and Provincial HIV and AIDS Plan;
To provide strategic and technical support with a view to strengthen local government and community responses to HIV and AIDS;
To mobilize and leverage technical and financial resources in support provincial and local efforts to combat HIV and AIDS;
To facilitate networks and partnerships in support of the Provincial HIV and AIDS Plan;
To conduct HIV and AIDS related research; and
To co-ordinate all HIV and AIDS related activities.

District AIDS Councils

Join the fight against HIV and AIDS - be part of a district AIDS Council:

District	Chairperson	Address	Contact Details
Alfred Nzo District Municipality	Cllr Goya	Health Portfolio Councillor Alfred Nzo District Municipality Erf Ntsizwa Street, Private bag X511, Mt Ayliff	T: 039 254 0511 F: 039 254 0514 mbeten@alfrednzodm.org.za
Amatole District Municipality	Cllr H Neale-May	Health Portfolio Councillor Amatole District Municipality 40 Cambridge Street, P.O. Box 320, East London	T: 043-701 4154 F: 043-722 8850 helenn@amatoledm.co.za
Cacadu District Municipality	Cllr Peters	Health Portfolio Councillor Cacadu District Municipality P.O. Box 318, Port Elizabeth	T: 041-508 7144 F: 041-508 7123 otto@cacadu.co.za
Chris Hani District Municipality	Cllr Dzedze	Health Portfolio Councillor Chris Hani District Municipality 42 Cathcart Road, Private Bag X7121, Queenstown	T: 045-808 4600 F: 045-839 3467
O R Tambo District Municipality	Cllr N Mabandla	Health Portfolio Councillor O R Tambo District Municipality Magwa House, Private Bag X6043, Umtata	T: 047-501 6444 047-532 2329 F: 047-532 2158 047-532 4166/51 thuso_umt@intekom.co.za
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality	Cllr M Swarts	Health Portfolio Councillor Nelson Mandela Metro Municipality Govan Mbeki Street, P.O. Box 136, Port Elizabeth	T: 041-505 4419 F: 041-505 4497 akakancu@mandelametro.gov.za
Ukhahlamba District Municipality	Cllr Tyali	Manager: Health & Social Services Ukhahlamba District Municipality Private Bag X102, Barkly East	T: 045-979 2292 F: 045-979 2286 mabaso@ukhahlamba.co.za

Multisectoral Approach in the other countries

HIV and AIDS programmes that built strong networks have found that every person, group, or interest that was involved from the genesis have multiplied their impact. By contrast, those who started alone in the fight against HIV and AIDS seem to remain alone, with only their resources and support to throw against challenges that are continuously growing in both size and complexity.

Every group has something to contribute, from NGOs, political organisations, the religious community, business, the communications industry, the medical community, all levels of government, public and private service agencies, law enforcement agencies, labour movements, educational institutions, people from all races and sexual orientations, foreigners etc.

Whether these groups have money, services, power, influence, time, skills, knowledge, access to people within risk groups, ability to facilitate programme operation within the larger community, or a clout to change public or private organisational policies about HIV and AIDS or resources needed by their programmes. Multisectoral collaboration was needed with urgency. The best platform of the multisectoral approach is at the AIDS Councils with all the sectors from the society.

Leadership and Political Commitment at All Levels
When HIV and AIDS came into the fore globally, effective leadership was needed more than it was during apartheid and colonisation regimes.

While bewildered by the rhythm and deadly pace of HIV and AIDS on one hand, fresh ideas, strategic solutions and pro-active solutions that will later develop into effective programs were needed on the other to manage and control the spread of this epidemic.

There has been a consistent and high-level leadership in countries where the epidemic is being controlled at the national level.

In countries like Uganda and Thailand, top leaders demonstrated clear and sustained commitment to the fight against HIV and AIDS.

These countries have had greatest successes in reducing the impact of HIV and AIDS to the livelihood of their people as well as their economy. Meanwhile countries of the leaders who have not shown similar commitment to the fight against this epidemic continue to have embarrassing records with high statistics ravaging their economy and the lives of many people.

A common feature of the successful countries is that they adopted a multisectoral response. Ministries of Health had to relinquish ownership of the disease by allowing other sectors to contribute in the fight as it affected everybody irregardless of social, financial status or race. This is seen in the location of AIDS Council leadership outside the health sector – in the Prime Minister’s Office in Uganda and Thailand, in office of the Deputy President in South Africa and in the Office of the Premier in the Eastern Cape.
In countries where health has jealously guarded its interests, success has either been slower or non-existent.

AIDS Councils in Other Countries

Even though SANAC was only formed in 2000, AIDS Councils in other parts of the world have been operating with great success since the early 1980s. A brief exploration of what people in other countries have done can only help us to learn from their experiences and help us to avoid the mistakes they made. At the same time it is a yardstick by which we should measure what we do in the Eastern Cape.

Thailand
In 1991 the AIDS policy was placed under the co-ordination of the Office of the Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun with a multi-sectoral National AIDS Prevention and Control Committee chaired by the prime minister.

Philippines
In 1992 the Philippines established the multi-sectoral Philippine National AIDS Council. This AIDS Council is required by legislation to include 26 members, including several Parliamentarians, representatives from six NGOs and one PLWHA, two medical organisations, and the heads of the following Departments or agencies: health; educations; employment; social welfare; interior and local government; justice; economic development; tourism; budget management; foreign affairs and information.

Uganda
In 1990 a task force on AIDS was charged with developing a multi-sectoral response to AIDS control. Participants included all government departments, local and international NGOs as well as the major international agencies. The process had strong support from President Museveni, and resulted in the establishment of the 24-member Uganda AIDS Commission.

France
The French Inter-ministerial Committee was formed in 1994 to co-ordinate the national response to AIDS.

Britain
The British Special AIDS Cabinet Committee was established in 1986 when AIDS became the focus of a high-profile political campaign.

Malawi
The Malawi Cabinet Sub-Committee on HIV and AIDS is chaired by the Vice President. Similar committees also exist in India and Botswana.

Brief Case Studies on Multi-sectoral Advisory Bodies

The Eastern Cape AIDS Council has task teams, or advisory bodies, on different aspects of its HIV and AIDS prevention and management programmes. The same thing has been done in other countries as you will read hereunder.

Multi-sectoral advisory bodies with professional and community representation, both general and specialist, on different aspects of HIV and AIDS prevention and management, can lend their expertise and skills in task team programmes.

For example, the Malaysian AIDS Council, an umbrella organisation of 27 groups, has a legal and ethical committee which formulated the AIDS Charter: Shared Rights, Shared Responsibilities in 1995. The Kyrgyzstan Multi-sectoral Co-ordination Committee on HIV and AIDS/STDs Prevention established a Technical Advisory Group on Policy and Legislation which held consultations in 1996, leading to the revision of the National AIDS Law by Parliament in March 1997.

Leadership and Political Commitment at All Levels

When HIV and AIDS came into the fore globally, effective leadership was needed more than it was during apartheid and colonisation regimes.

There has been a consistent and high-level leadership in countries where the epidemic is being controlled at the national level.

In countries like Uganda and Thailand, top leaders demonstrated clear and sustained commitment to the fight against HIV and AIDS.