What are National AIDS Commissions?
National AIDS Commission (NACs) are stand-alone institutions, independent of a government ministry, and usually comprising a governance body (the Board) and an operational body (the Secretariat), which, taken together form the NAC. The terminology National AIDS Council or Coordinating Authority has also been used in the literature. The earliest example of a NAC under the Office of the President was the Uganda AIDS Commission established in 1992. In some countries, especially where the HIV prevalence is low, the institution mandated with coordinating the response to HIV is situated within a government ministry, usually the Ministry of Health.
In 2005 UNAIDS reported that, of the 66 countries covered in their survey, 95per cent had national AIDS coordinating authorities. Of the 66 responding countries, 28 were in sub-Saharan Africa, nine in Latin America and the Caribbean, 13 in Asia-Pacific, 11 in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and five in the Middle East and North Africa. Although the survey found the authorities varied in effectiveness, for those countries which had national AIDS coordinating authorities, over 80 per cent were recognised as the main coordinator of the HIV response. (source UNAIDS 2005 Three Ones in Action).
During the early years of the HIV epidemic, national HIV responses were largely driven by Ministries of Health (MOH) which also spearheaded the development of sector responses with other line ministries. However, soaring prevalence rates and international recognition of the multi-sectoral nature of HIV/AIDS called for emergency international and national responses involving the mobilisation of sectors beyond health. In the late 1990’s, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, there was a move to extract the leadership of the response from MOH and establish stand alone National AIDS Commissions tasked with leading and coordinating the national response.
In 2005 UNAIDS reported that, of the 66 countries covered in their survey, 95per cent had national AIDS coordinating authorities. Of the 66 responding countries, 28 were in sub-Saharan Africa, nine in Latin America and the Caribbean, 13 in Asia-Pacific, 11 in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and five in the Middle East and North Africa. Although the survey found the authorities varied in effectiveness, for those countries which had national AIDS coordinating authorities, over 80 per cent were recognised as the main coordinator of the HIV response. (source UNAIDS 2005 Three Ones in Action).
During the early years of the HIV epidemic, national HIV responses were largely driven by Ministries of Health (MOH) which also spearheaded the development of sector responses with other line ministries. However, soaring prevalence rates and international recognition of the multi-sectoral nature of HIV/AIDS called for emergency international and national responses involving the mobilisation of sectors beyond health. In the late 1990’s, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, there was a move to extract the leadership of the response from MOH and establish stand alone National AIDS Commissions tasked with leading and coordinating the national response.
