Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 16 July 2004
Rosemarie North in Bangkok
They were commenting on a draft Code of Good Practice for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) Responding to HIV/AIDS, a joint initiative hosted by the International Federation.
AIDS has two faces, Baba Goumbala, executive director of Senegal's National Alliance Against AIDS (ANCS), told a full conference room. One face is fear and suffering, he said.
"The other is the wealth and opulence of some stakeholders who profit more than they serve in the HIV/AIDS response. It is usual to hear on the radio 'AIDS feeds more than it kills'," Goumbala, a panellist at the event, said.
"The code provides a common advocacy tool that different NGOs can use to ensure real and effective responses."
Goumbala said the code would help NGOs learn from each other and coordinate, based on what each organisation did best, whether it was human rights, sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS or development.
Currently ANCS worked with more than 750 different community groups. The code should also help target risk groups, he said.
Such a code was vital in sub-Saharan Africa, the region worst hit by the AIDS epidemic, and where organizations could be swayed by foreign funding which made up 97 per cent of money for the HIV/AIDS response.
The voluntary Code of Practice, which is being developed by a core of 12 organizations and discussed with hundreds more, aims to outline and build wider commitment to core principles evidence-based practices, improve quality and cohesiveness and strengthen accountability.
It will also foster greater collaboration between NGOs, and renew their "voice" by enabling them to commit to a shared vision of good practice in programming and advocacy.
Razia Essack-Kauaria, governing board member of the International Federation and secretary general of the Namibian Red Cross said she hoped the code would enable NGOs to become valued partners in their own countries so they could influence national AIDS plans and funding decisions by their own governments.
"Do we too benefit from what we see today as the HIV/AIDS industry? It has become abundantly clear that effective scaling up requires coherence and coordination in-country. It is imperative that every dollar is well spent and focuses on making a real difference in people's lives," she said.
Essack-Kauaria drew a parallel with the Sphere Project, which defines minimum standards in humanitarian relief work and whose worth had been shown during floods and in refugee camps in Nambia.
The code was aspirational and voluntary, and NGOs that signed on would be supported to use it.
"I personally believe the code will help us stay focused on saving and improving lives. It sets the bar, and challenges and inspires us to work towards achieving it," she said.
Pok Panhavichetr, executive director of Khana, the Khmer HIV/AIDS NGO Alliance, said the number of NGOs under the Khana umbrella grew every month.
They all needed what the code offered - such as principles to guide the scaling up of work, improving accountability, a commitment to quality and a way to build sustainability.
Denis Caillaux, secretary-general of Care International, encouraged NGOs to be rigorous about implementing the code. He also said it was crucial for the code to reflect the views of the many and diverse organizations working in the HIV/AIDS field.
In a debate from the floor, Julian Hows, the European representative of the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, said that as a person with HIV, he appreciated the code. He said it would be possible to produce a charter based on the code so that beneficiaries could monitor NGOs' progress.
Code of Good Practice Manager Julia Cabassi said comments from a six-month consultation process would be invaluable in revising the draft code, which was a work in progress that would evolve in future.
Summing up the discussion, chair Alvaro Bermejo, former head of health at the International Federation and now executive director of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, said it was clear the code was needed to reaffirm good practices, support a rights-based approach and guide AIDS work.
The draft Code of Good Practice is available at www.ifrc.org/what/health/hivaids/code/ and comments can be sent to NGOHIV.code @ ifrc.org until August 20. The code is also available in French, Spanish and Russian, and comments are invited in these languages to email addresses listed at www.ifrc.org.
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