08.P0206 NASTAD - Assistance to MLG District Prevention Program

NASTAD is embedded in the MLG to provide a range of support to the DACs and the DMSACs. In 2007,

they hired an officer dedicated to prevention; held a workshop for approximately 20 DACs, Peace Corps

Volunteers (PCVs), and Implementing Partner representatives from the 5 focus districts; and conducted one

-on-one follow up visits to those districts to support improved prevention activity planning and

implementation. NASTAD will continue to support quality prevention planning, implementation, and

monitoring in five districts identified for PEPFAR prevention assistance by the Ministry.

This activity responds to a relatively low capacity to address critical prevention needs on the district level.

With this support, districts officials and implementers will be able to hold more strategic (albeit small scale)

interventions, rather than funding a wide range of unrelated one-off activities targeting a large number of

target audiences. NASTAD will also focus on helping the district staff responsible for overseeing the District

Implementation Plans with monitoring of quality and reach of the various activities funded by the DMSAC.

NASTAD will hold training workshops and provide one-on-one technical assistance to key individuals

working in the DMSAC, including the DAC and attached PCV (in cases where a PCV is there) and at times

key district-level implementing partners, who are often small civil society groups. Local and international

NASTAD staff will provide that assistance. NASTAD will also facilitate training and implementation support

from other Botswana training and implementation providers, such as YOHO (e.g. for theater training) and

the Botswana Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (BBCA) (e.g. for workplace outreach). NASTAD will also

coordinate and support the distribution and planning of funds provided to the MLG under PEPFAR to

support more prevention activities in these districts.

Complementing this activity are 1) a small grants program for some of the local civil society groups working

in these five districts, and 2) provision of additional funding for prevention activities for the MLG. Together,

these three activities will increase the total amount of assistance and funding for prevention activities in

those districts, through two critical directions: the DMSAC and local planning and monitoring bodies and the

civil society groups that conduct a large share of the prevention-related implementation on the local level.

The funding for this activity is from both the AB program area (66%) and the C/OP program area (33%).

The District comprehensive plans that NASTAD will support usually includes activities for a range of target

groups and issues, including some that belong under AB (e.g. school abstinence pageants) and some that

belong under C/OP (sex worker outreach).

08.P0506 NASTAD - Assistance to MLG district prevention project

NASTAD is embedded in the MLGt to provide a range of support to the DACs and the DMSACs. In 2007,

they hired an officer dedicated to prevention, held a workshop for approximately 20 DACs, Peace Corps

Volunteers (PCVs), and Implementing Partner representatives from the 5 focus districts, and conducted one

-on-one follow up visits to those districts to support improved prevention activity planning and

implementation. NASTAD will continue to support quality prevention planning, implementation, and

monitoring in five districts identified for PEPFAR prevention assistance by the Ministry.

This activity is responding to a relatively low capacity to address critical prevention needs on the district

level. With this support, districts officials and implementers will be able to hold more strategic (albeit small

scale) interventions, rather than funding a wide range of unrelated one-off activities targeting a large

number of target audiences. NASTAD will also focus on helping the district staff responsible for overseeing

the District Implementation Plans with monitoring of quality and reach of the various activities funded by the

DMSAC.

NASTAD will hold training workshops and provide one-on-one technical assistance to key individuals

working in the DMSAC, including the DAC and attached PCVs (in cases where a PCV is there) and at times

key district-level implementing partners, who are often small civil society groups. Local and international

NASTAD staff will provide that assistance. NASTAD will also facilitate training and implementation support

from other Botswana training and implementation providers, such as Youth Health Organization (YOHO)

(e.g. for theater training) and the Botswana Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (BBCA) (e.g. for workplace

outreach). NASTAD will also coordinate and support the distribution and planning of funds provided to the

Ministry of Local Government under PEPFAR to support more prevention activities in these districts.

Complementing this activity are 1) a small grants program for some of the local civil society groups working

in these five districts, and 2) provision of additional funding for prevention activities for the MLG. Together,

these three activities will increase the total amount of assistance and funding for prevention activities in

those districts, through two critical directions: the DMSAC and local planning and monitoring bodies and the

civil society groups that conduct a large share of the prevention-related implementation on the local level.

The funding for this activity is from both the AB program area (66%) and the C/OP (33%). The District

Comprehensive Plans that NASTAD will support usually includes activities for a range of target groups and

issues, including some that belong under AB (e.g. school abstinence pageants) and some that belong under

C/OP (sex worker outreach).

08-X1402: National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) - Community Planning

The Botswana National Strategic Framework (NSF, 2003), which guides the country's response to HIV,

outlines a decentralized strategy to address the epidemic. This is led by District Multi-Sectoral AIDS

Committees (DMSACs) and District AIDS Coordinators (DACs) who develop and implement interventions,

captured in annual work plans, to address the epidemic in their areas. Recognizing that these plans and

the resultant response were not adequately addressing the local situation, NASTAD, a U.S. NGO, was

engaged in 2003 to provide technical assistance in this area. The objective of this technical assistance is to

build the capacity of national and district level government workers to improve the response to their

epidemic by applying an evidence-based, community planning approach. NASTAD works in partnership

with the MLG, Department of Primary Health Care Services (DPHCS), to provide in-depth on-site technical

assistance and training to all DACs and DMSACs to help assure the development of high quality annual

evidenced-based comprehensive district HIV plans.

Since the program was established in 2003, the NASTAD team has developed a District HIV/AIDS Planning

Toolkit and trained all DACs and DMSAC members and Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) on Evidence

Based Planning. The capacity of the Districts to perform key functions, particularly in the area of community

profiling and analysis of epidemiologic information, has been enhanced. As the work continues into the

future, NASTAD will address identified weaknesses in the use of evidence based planning in each district.

Specifically, attention will need to be focused on techniques for conducting and analyzing community needs

assessments, prioritization of gaps in services, identification of activities that are based in sound theory and

practice in the field, implementation of activities and monitoring and evaluation of those activities. NASTAD

will undertake a strategic planning process directed at its own program in Botswana and develop a plan for

institutionalizing evidence based planning in MLG and the District Offices, thus ensuring sustainable

planning processes that will continue to function without the assistance of NASTAD.

2007 Accomplishments:

Trained 229 people in 9 districts (DACs, DMSAC members, PCVs and other community members) in

evidence-based planning during technical site visits; developed and implemented quality assurance

mechanisms; promoted development of district networking and referral systems and monitoring of

expenditures; developed standardized database with which DACs to track implementation of their plan, and

provide standardized reporting of variables to MLG; providing technical assistance to develop a stigma

component of the CCEP and training to trainers.

2008 Plans:

Continue to partner with MLG DPHCS to provide one-on-one on-site tailored technical assistance to all 27

districts in the use of evidence-based planning methods for the development of annual district

comprehensive plans; continue to train as needed DACs (27), DMSACs, associated technical sub-

committees (DMSAC co-chairs, TAC chairs, lead DMSAC civil society member, monitoring and evaluation

officers - 162) and PCVs (20); train relevant Policy Advisors in the DPHCS (responsible for planning, home

based care, orphans and vulnerable children, CCEP and monitoring and evaluation) in evidence-based

planning (5); mentor DACs by having them join the NASTAD technical assistance teams in order to afford

an opportunity for lateral learning from their peers in the field; conduct one national training for all DACs;

collaborate with district monitoring and evaluation officers to continue to support MLG's effort to develop

and implement a standardized reporting system for district planning and prevention activities. An external

evaluation of the program will be conducted in 2008. As a result, 20 out of 27 districts will submit a

Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Plan to MLG that contains sections describing all eight steps of the evidence

based planning process.