This programme is a five-year strategy to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on democratic governance, human development and security in sub-Saharan Africa. It aims to strengthen good governance to counter the effects of HIV/AIDS by instituting evidence-based advocacy, skills building and active citizenship targeting intergovernmental organisations (IGOs) and relevant regional non-state actors.

This programme is primarily informed by Idasa-GAP’s own groundbreaking research which reveals a changing human context characterised by increased AIDS deaths among elected representatives and voters, which may necessitate political engineering processes:
relevant to human development;

• requiring economic resources to replace deceased leaders and sustain democratic institutions for under-resourced countries in hyper-endemic zones (UNAIDS: 2008);
• avoiding over-dependence on foreign donors for AIDS funding, which may render treating the millions living with HIV unsustainable for African governments;
• improving local governments’ capacity and ability to partner with other actors to fight AIDS; and
• addressing the effects of the pandemic on skills and revenue bases.

Serious human rights questions also arise from the studies which point to entrenched  exclusionary tendencies amongst political elites against PLWHAs who seek high office, and low participation in public voting, community activity and economic life by PLWHAS due to stigma and discrimination. The studies also reveal the marginalisation of care givers from the public policy processes due to contending priorities of survival and social responsibility.

The programme is further motivated by questions emerging from this research raised in policy dialogue forums on the need to develop long term evidence-based interventions to address these complex political, economic and social challenges posed by the epidemic. The programme looks to delve deeper into the largely unexplored areas in which HIV/AIDS continues to undermine governance efforts including human development, peace building and conflict management which fall within the ambit of Idasa’s emergent programmatic areas in post-conflict Africa.

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