1. OWN, SCALE-UP & SUSTAIN The 16 th International Conference on AIDS & STIs in Africa 4 to 8 December 2011, Addis Ababa www.icasa2011addis.org

2.  The primacy of national ownership of plans and priorities is the overarching rubric that efforts to harmonize and align must support and under which coordination efforts should occur. This principle of ownership requires planning, programming, monitoring and evaluation to be led by national stakeholders. Ownership is grounded in the fact that national partners are accountable to their own societies for the services they provide.” – Global Task Team 2005

3. “’Ownership should be understood as democratic ownership, which means that citizens’ voices and concerns must be central to national, regional and local development plans and processes through legitimate and open mechanisms involving parliament and civil society, including women’s organisations” - International Steering Group, Accra Agenda for Action 2008 

4. Ownership = Joint Programme planning Ownership = Agreed Programme implementation Ownership = Budgeting based on priorities  Ownership : Shared responsibility among stakeholders to meet the Investment needs for the AIDS response at Country levels  Ownership : Minimum allocation of 15% of Budgetary allocation to Health by African countries  Ownership : Channelling available resources to priority areas based on evidence of the nature of the epidemic  Ownership : Striving for greater self reliance in the AIDS response and using external resources to support a gradual transition

5.  Open Budget Index 2010 (OBI), compiled by the International Budget Partnership (IBP), shows that 74 out of 94 countries assessed failed to meet basic standards of transparency and accountability in their national budgets  The 32 aid-dependent countries surveyed had an average OBI 2010 score of 30 out of 100. ◦ Algeria 1% ◦ Botswana 51% ◦ Egypt – 49% ◦ Kenya – 49% ◦ Nigeria - 18% ◦ South Africa 92% ◦ Senegal 3% ◦ Uganda – 55%  http://internationalbudget.org/what-we-do/open-budget- survey/country-info http://internationalbudget.org/what-we-do/open-budget- survey/country-info 

6.  How accessible are budget documents to the public ?  Accessible? Scant? Not Accessible? ◦ Are year end reports made public to enable comparisons between actual amounts appropriated, released and spent ◦ Do legal frameworks enabling access to information exist ? (Freedom of Information Bill?) ◦ Are there opportunities for citizen participation in budget Does the legislature holds public hearings on the budget? Are testimonies from the public heard?

7.  Is information on aid/ HIV and AIDS flows to countries widely available and accessible? ◦ Published ? On websites?  For what purposes is funding made available ? Is it jointly agreed upon by relevant stakeholders?  Who benefits?  Is spending truly building local capacity or providing an opportunity for more International Consultancies?  Is spending aligned with Country priorities based on evidence?

8. ◦ How much is Private sector contributing to the AIDS response? ◦ Are relevant communities informed about the outcomes of projects ? What platforms for dissemination exist? ◦ Are we truly learning from the “lessons learnt “’ to shape and inform future programming? ◦ Have we sacrificed our bark and bite as watchdogs on the altar of “securing funding”? ◦ How engaged are the “Social enablers” such as mass media

9.  A 3 year project from 2006 -2008 tracking Annual budgetary allocations to HIV & AIDS in Nigeria conducted by JAAIDS ◦ HIV/AIDS allocation trend based on National Budgets with emphasis on the MDAs ◦ Review of allocations to MDAs in the light of National Strategic Framework and country priorities ◦ Trends in Donor allocation – How much are the big players allocating? ◦ Allocation Vs Actual Expenditure ◦ Budget Training Workshops organised for Civil Society groups and Media ◦ Consultations with State Legislators and key Stakeholders on improving engagement with budgetary process

10.  Difficulties in accessing information particularly from MDAs on National Budget releases and actual spending  Bureaucratic bottlenecks in accessing Information on Donor Allocation Vs Donor Spending  Inconsistencies in alignment of programmes of some MDAs with the National Strategic Framework  Limited capacity of CSOs and media to engage in Budget tracking ( Media reports often focused on Budgetary allocations at commencement of Budget year only

11.  Limited information about Budgets means citizens are unable to hold government accountable for its management of the public’s money  Poor information sharing and poor linkages between Programme Implementation and Programme spending means we unable to hold each other accountable  “Constrained resources can create positive incentives for programmes to demonstrate better results, to be more accountable and transparent, and to be as effective and efficient as possible; spending money on the right things, and doing them right.”

12.  Create regular platforms for Information sharing and feedback among and between stakeholders  Ensuring linkages between Joint Annual Reviews, Monitoring and Evaluation programmes Expenditure Tracking Activities  Creation platforms for public debates through media, interactions with legislators, policy makers and key stakeholders to track progress