BONELA gets private sector funding

Staff Writer | Friday April 13, 2012 00:00

The forum which was held as the first step in breaking the long standing dependence on international funding that has seen the demise of many non -governmental organizations in Botswana, was attended by high fliers in the sector such as Botswana Confederation of Commerce, Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM); Botswana Medical Aid Society (BOMAID); Botswana Public Officers Medical Aid Scheme (BPOMAS); Debswana; First National Bank (FNB); Gaborone Container Terminal (GABCON); Kgalagadi Breweries Limited (KBL); Letshego Holdings; MASCOM; Mahindra-Botswana  and ORANGE Botswana.

Speaking at the forum, BONELA Executive Director, Mr. Uyapo Ndadi said the private sector has a stake in the response to HIV/AIDS as an estimated 34 percent of the work force is living with HIV. Thus, they have a responsibility for protecting the rights of their employees.

He further said that 'whilst there has been a positive response to our efforts to build tolerance for key populations, the process of law reform is one that is often costly and lengthy.

To continue with our work to address such challenges, BONELA has to bridge its current funding deficit of P3.8 million out of its P9.5 million budget', Ndadi also said. The International HIV/AIDS Alliance Senior Advisor: Human Rights and People Living with HIV Involvement, Ms. Christine Stegling, said that 'BONELA like many other organizations has been adversely affected by the recent global recession which has led to a pronounced decline in fiscal commitments by donor countries to funding HIV/AIDS programs.

'It thus needs to revise its funding strategy and pilot the investment approach that is based on activities that are evidence-based and have been scientifically proven to have a direct impact on reducing HIV transmission, morbidity and mortality.

These together with key social enablers make the environment conducive for an effective HIV response. It is very simple, either donors pay now, or pay forever.'Former National AIDS Coordinating Agency (NACA) Coordinator and Champions for an HIV Free Generation representative, Mr. Christopher Molomo applauded the work of BONELA in the last ten years.

He said; 'Personally I have had a shift in mindset and subsequently in attitude in contentious human rights issues around key populations as a result of BONELA's work. BONELA is a best practice in human rights advocacy, especially in reducing stigma. The forum presented an opportunity for establishing a partnership with our initiative and we can carry those best practices outside the borders of Botswana.'

MASCOM Communications Manager, Ms. Tebogo Lebotse said that the forum was a good strategy to open up the minds of the private sector representatives in attendance to the potential areas of collaboration through their corporate social responsibility programmes.

In addition she said: 'Mascom would like to meet with BONELA to dialogue more and explore whether we can collaborate as we have an E-health programme that seeks to harness technology in delivering health solutions.'

Debswana also urged BONELA to follow up with them as they have identified critical gaps in mining communities accessing health and HIV and AIDS services, an area that they can potentially fund.

Chief Economist in the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Mr. Sinaice Kudzani Sinaice said that the forum was fruitful, but noted that it would have been even more so had BONELA invited representatives of both the parliamentary HIV/AIDS and the constitutional and law reform committees to appreciate the efforts made by BONELA in addressing stigma and discrimination, law and policy reform and accountability of funds from various sources.

BONELA was also supported by its traditional donors - the Open Society initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) and the Southern African AIDS Trust (SAT) as well as strategic bodies in the area of HIV and AIDS, including the Champions for an HIV Free Generation; Ministry of Finance and Development Planning; National AIDS Coordinating Agency (NACA); United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS).

They expressed their confidence in BONELA as an organization of integrity and that funding BONELA would be a smart investment. As a follow up to the meeting, BONELA will draw up a plan of action to build on the consensus established through the forum.