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AIDS and the PRSP -- Can We Marry These Key Parts of the Development Agenda Watch Video Connection Speed: High Speed Low Speed    Event Title : AIDS and the PRSP -- Can We Marry These Key Parts of the Development Agenda Date : 12/13/2001 Duration : 83 minutes Language  : English Country/Region : World Keyword :  AIDS  Human Development   Presenter : Olusoji Adeyi Pamela Cox Robert Hecht Agnes Soucat | Related Material | Recommendations |Related B-SPAN Videos |  DESCRIPTION  We regrets the audio difficulties with this video Jo Ritzen, vice president of the Banks Human Development network, opens the meeting by noting the terrible problems HIV/AIDS presents to the development community. He says the days discussion will focus on how the Bank will work with its clients to make the Poverty Reduction Strategy Reports (PRSP) more effective in addressing AIDS. Olusoji Adeyi, a senior health specialist for the Bank, provided some background on the impact of AIDS on sub-Saharan Africa. Adeyi stated AIDS is thought of as only a health problem and that it needs to be thought of as a development problem as well. In Africa today, AIDS is destroying social capital, weakening government institutions and creating wider and deeper poverty. He suggests that there is strong evidence that AIDS causes poverty, but it is less clear that poverty causes AIDS. However, he does believe that poverty does leave the poor more vulnerable to the disease. The economic impact of HIV/AIDS from 1990 through 1997 has been powerful. It has worsened the income distribution of countries and reduced agricultural production. It has added significant costs to the business sector through the loss or workers, retraining of new workers, and lowered production rates. Adeyi notes a whole generation of orphans is being created, without appropriate family structures or educations, who will one day inherit management of their countries. Adeyi reiterates that the evidence poverty increases AIDS is less clear cut. Strategies he identifies for addressing the issue include focusing the PRSPs on the AIDS-poverty linkages and linking debt relief agreements with AIDS. Agnes Soucat, a senior health economist for the Bank, discussed her teams review of how AIDS was addressed in existing PRSPs. While some countries look at AIDS, but in general most have little which explores the linkages with poverty or has set goals to reduce its impact on poverty. Of all the countries studied, Soucat notes that Uganda appears to have done the best job at addressing short term action plans through its PRSP. Some of the underlying problems for better understanding of the AIDS-poverty linkages include weak country-level databases, limited capacity for analysis and weak technical support. She notes, however, many countries are increasingly committed to curbing infection rates. Soucat also says it is too early to know how much debt relief will be channeled to AIDS issues. Robert Hecht, a senior advisor with the Banks Human Development network, conducted the final presentation on future steps. He stresses the need to do more work on the analytical side of understanding linkages. He suggests that AIDS-poverty analysis is strongest when there is already socioeconomic research taking place. He believes a well articulated and publicized AIDS plan at the national level can serve as the basis for a strategy in the PRSPs. Key indicators, actions and targets in the national plans can lay the groundwork for the PRSPs. Hecht also stresses the importance of national AIDS groups to work harder to influence the PRSP decision making process. Having AIDS included the Terms of References of PRSPs is important, but not sufficient by itself. Donors can make an important impact in outcomes, and he cites the work of UNICEF in Uganda. Hecht recommends increasing the technical support necessary for better analysis. He states that behavioral changes can be measured and this data needs to be put to better use by the Bank. Capacity building should be continued and the Bank should nurture networks of specialists who work in this area. A knowledge sharing toolkit with analysis and best practices should be developed. He notes that expenditures should not additions to PRSPs but part of the planning process. Finally, he suggests the Bank needs to start thinking now about what steps should be taken beyond the development of PRSPs. Ritzen notes that the message is clear more and better analysis must be done. Audience comments included better staff participation should happen earlier in the PRSP process, more analysis should be done on the impact of orphans, better age and gender related data is needed in addition to economic impact data.. Pamela Cox, a director in the Banks Africa region, closed the session that clearly PRSPs are a vehicle to do something on the AIDS-poverty linkages. She recalls that when the Malawi Country Assistance Strategy went to the Board of Directors, there was little in it on the development impact of AIDS, and it was the Board that wanted to know why so little analysis was available. Cox suggests the Bank needs to do more to do analysis, set goals and implement action plans. She also notes that this is not simply a human development issue, but a poverty reduction and macroeconomic issue as well.  RELATED MATERIALS   Olusoji Adeyi, "Curbing AIDS and Reducing Poverty: Two Development Objectives" Agnes Soucat, "AIDS Control, Poverty, and Debt Relief" Robert Hecht, "The Future, Doing More, Doing Better" slides RELATED B-SPAN EVENTS AIDS (59) Human Development (150)