The Ministry for the Fight Against AIDS (MLS) was created in 2001 to serve as the executive secretariat of

the National AIDS Council, the principal governmental policymaking and strategic-planning body for

HIV/AIDS in Cote d'Ivoire. The creation of the MLS was a key strategy in building effective national-level

coordination, as mandated in the National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan. The mission of the MLS is to coordinate

a comprehensive and effective multisectoral and decentralized national response to HIV/AIDS, and the

ministry thus plays a central role in bringing together stakeholders to define national policy and strategies

for the care, treatment, and prevention of HIV/AIDS.

Since 2004, the Emergency Plan has provided assistance to the MLS to support the development of an

information technology infrastructure, the human capacity to utilize and maintain it, and the development

and implementation of a national monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system. Significant results of this

collaboration include:

• Creation, validation, and production of the 2006-2010 National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan.

• Coordination of the 2005 National AIDS Indicator Survey (AIS).

• Creation and validation of the 2006-2010 National Monitoring and Evaluation Plan, which will guide

monitoring of all activities undertaken within the National Strategic Plan.

• Procurement of essential information technology infrastructure to strengthen M&E units at the central and

regional levels.

• Harmonization of community-level indicators.

• Creation of M&E training modules for the community level.

• Training of focal points on the utilization of M&E tools.

• Continued capacity building of the central level M&E unit within the MLS.

• Evaluation of the 2006-2010 National Strategic Plan.

As highlighted in the process of creating the 2006-2010 National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan, there is a notable

weakness in the central coordination of HIV/AIDS interventions throughout the country, as well as an

absence of a functional M&E system. The MLS is currently in the process of implementing a new

organizational model, with a renewed focus on coordination and the strengthening of its M&E activities. The

EP, in turn, is refocusing its efforts on building and reinforcing the unique coordination role of the MLS to 1)

increase communication among stakeholders, 2) collect and disseminate essential HIV/AIDS data, and 3)

utilize this data for effective national and international advocacy in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Côte

d'Ivoire.

The MLS will use FY08 funds to support coordination and M&E. Behavior-change communication activities,

an important component of the National Strategic Plan for which the MLS received funding in previous

years, will be executed in FY08 by other EP implementing partners (Alliance Cote d'Ivoire, PSI, FHI). The

MLS will thus have more resources dedicated to implementing the national M&E plan and to building the

capacity of M&E units of other ministries through:

• Identification of cross-sectoral M&E training needs of all institutions involved in HIV/AIDS data collection.

• Implementation of training based on this assessment of training needs.

• Collaboration with other ministries, the private sector, and community partners to identify structures and

define mechanisms outside the MLS to collect HIV/AIDS data and send it to the central level.

• Reinforcement of the capacity of these structures to collect HIV/AIDS data and send to the central level in

support of the national M&E plan.

• Elaboration, validation, and dissemination of the 2008 National HIV/AIDS Report.

• Implementation of a population-based survey in collaboration with the MOH and Project RETRO-CI.

• Strong performance in its role as the national, central source of HIV/AIDS information, including:

- Analyzing, organizing, and displaying data to make it usable (e.g. in GIS maps, graphs, and interactive

tools).

- Creating a national data repository, in collaboration with other ministries, to store and manage

information. In the process, the MLS will contribute to key preliminary milestones, such as the

standardization of indicators and data-collection tools, creation of a data confidentiality policy, and creation

of a national identification number for all health-services users.

- Disseminating HIV/AIDS data/information via the following activities:

- Creation of a national clearinghouse of documents, tools, and other HIV/AIDS resources for use by all

stakeholders, including the general public, government agencies, NGOs, and international partners.

Promotion of this resource will include community and local stakeholders.

- Redesign of the existing MLS Web site, with particular focus on ease of use and the provision of up-

to-date national HIV/AIDS statistics, reports, and links to key international HIV/AIDS documents, guidelines,

and other data.

• Organization of quarterly meetings of the national strategic information working group.

The Ministry for the Fight Against AIDS (MLS) was created in 2001 to serve as the executive secretariat of

the National AIDS Council, the principal governmental policy-making, strategic-planning, and coordination

body of the response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Côte d'Ivoire. Creation of the MLS was a key strategy in

building effective national-level coordination. The mission of the MLS is to coordinate a comprehensive and

effective multi-sector and decentralized national response to HIV/AIDS, and it thus plays a principal role in

bringing together stakeholders to define national policy and strategies for the care, treatment, and

prevention of HIV/AIDS in Côte d'Ivoire.

Since 2004, the USG has provided assistance to the MLS to support the development of an information

technology infrastructure and the human capacity to use and maintain it, the development and

implementation of a national monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system, and the development and

implementation of a national behavior change communication (BCC) strategy focused on abstinence and

fidelity. Significant achievements from this collaboration include the following:

• Creation, validation, and production of the 2006-2010 National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan.

• Coordination of the 2005 National AIDS Indicator Survey (AIS).

• Creation and validation of the 2006-2010 National Monitoring and Evaluation Plan.

• Procurement of essential information technology infrastructure to strengthen the M&E unit.

• Creation and ongoing dissemination of the National BCC Strategy.

• Provision of various BCC training sessions for key partners.

• Production of BCC materials promoting abstinence and delay of sexual debut.

• Forums with communication partners to create new BCC messages and tools focused on women.

As was highlighted in the process of the creation of the 2006-2010 National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan, there

is a notable weakness in the central coordination of HIV/AIDS interventions throughout the country. The

MLS is currently in the process of implementing a new organizational model, with a renewed focus on

coordination as opposed to the actual delivery of HIV prevention, care, or treatment services and

interventions. The USG is in turn refocusing its efforts to build and reinforce the unique coordination role of

the MLS to a) increase communication among stakeholders, b) collect and disseminate essential HIV/AIDS

data, and c) utilize this data for effective national and international advocacy in the fight against HIV/AIDS in

Côte d'Ivoire.

With USG FY07 funds, MLS is continuing to implement the national M&E plan and to build its capacity for

planning and M&E through:

• An evaluation of the implementation of functional M&E units in 13 administrative regions of the country

under government control.

• Reproduction and dissemination of data-collection tools and other support materials.

• Coordination of M&E activities for community-level partners and other stakeholders, in collaboration with

Alliance Cote d'Ivoire.

FY07 activities focus mainly on information, education, and communication; on training; and on the key

issues of gender and stigma/discrimination. To reinforce institutional capacity for the fight against HIV/AIDS,

the MLS is pursuing decentralization efforts by providing capacity building and training in BCC and

HIV/AIDS information for:

• 32 members of 16 sector HIV/AIDS committees (including from the ministries of Agriculture, Education,

Public Affairs, Health, Defense, Interior, Tourism and Craft Industry, Scientific Research, Technical and

Vocational Training, Mines and Energy, Environment, Urban Affairs, Justice and Human Rights, Solidarity

and Victims of War, Family and Social Affairs, and MLS).

• 12 members of six decentralized regional HIV/AIDS committees in central, northern, and western Cote

d'Ivoire.

• 26 members of 13 business councils representing, among others, CIGE, FIPME, Business Coalition,

Filtissac, Unilever, Palmafrique, Cemoi, Palmci, CNRA, Poste-CI, Nestle, SOTRA, and PAA.

• 68 members of 28 NGOs (including 15 NGOs in regions formerly under the control of the nongovernment

Forces Nouvelles) who will be trained as community-based trainers.

Policy and systems strengthening activities for FY08 will focus primarily on continuing to build the capacity

of the MLS to adequately fulfill its role as the key player in the central coordination of all HIV/AIDS activities.

Activities will support increased information sharing and advocacy activities among stakeholders, including

donors, international and bilateral partners, NGOs, and ministries, through the following activities:

• Organizing regular meetings of multilateral and bilateral donors to discuss new policy issues, challenges,

opportunities, etc. Meetings will bring together counterparts of similar levels of responsibility for

collaboration.

• Organizing regular meetings of implementing partners, including donors, foundations, United Nations

organizations, and NGOs, to discuss new policy issues, challenges, opportunities, etc.

• Organizing, in collaboration with other relevant ministries, quarterly meetings of technical working groups

(e.g. strategic information, gender and HIV, nutrition and HIV, CT, PMTCT, ABY, etc.) to facilitate the

sharing of best practices, the development of core competencies for training curricula, current research, and

challenges faced by the various governmental, NGO, and international partners involved in the fight against

HIV/AIDS.

• Identifying and procuring technical assistance to support the MLS in the areas of strategic information and

coordination.

• Organizing all obligatory meetings of governmental HIV/AIDS bodies, including the annual meeting of the

National Committee for the Fight Against AIDS (CNLS) and the biannual Inter-Ministerial Committee for the

Fight Against AIDS (CIMLS).

• Mobilizing private-sector partners and resources for increased involvement in the fights against HIV/AIDS

in Côte d'Ivoire.

The MLS will report to the USG strategic information team quarterly program results and ad hoc requested

program data. To help the USG team contribute to building a unified national M&E system, the MLS will

participate in quarterly SI meetings and will implement decisions taken during these meetings.