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HIV AND AIDS: A LONG WAVE EVENT

Integrating HIV and Gender Related Issues into Environmental Assessments in East and Southern Africa Benjamin Ofosu-Koranteng UNDP Regional Center for Africa Addis Ababa, Ethiopia benjamin.ofosu-koranteng@undp.org. HIV AND AIDS: A LONG WAVE EVENT.

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HIV AND AIDS: A LONG WAVE EVENT

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  1. Integrating HIV and Gender Related Issues into Environmental Assessments in East and Southern AfricaBenjamin Ofosu-KorantengUNDP Regional Center for AfricaAddis Ababa, Ethiopiabenjamin.ofosu-koranteng@undp.org

  2. HIV AND AIDS: A LONG WAVE EVENT • Despite all the achievements of the last decade, challenges around the following still exist: • Low uptake of HIV testing, • Need for innovative HIV prevention services • Need for sustainability of funding • Addressing the long term structural drivers including migration, stigma and discrimination and weak laws • Interestis now growing in relation to the linkages between increasing HIV infections and large infrastructure projects including the extractive industry

  3. AFRICA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH AND THE INFRASTRUCTURE BOOM • Africa focussing on the development of its natural resources (including the extractive sector) for which large capital projects are pre-requisites • Capital investment into SSA increased by almost 13% between 2012 and 2013 • AfDB devoting more than 70% of loans to infrastructure • Large infrastructure projects feature in most NDPs e.g. • Mozambique, Uganda, Angola, Ghana, Tanzania, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Guinea Ernst and Young Attractiveness Survey, Africa 2014

  4. HIV AND THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY • HIV prevalence in the coal mining district of Tete Province (Mozambique) increased by 80% from 2009 to 2011 as the first coal mines started construction • Migrant miners aged 30-44 are 15% more likely to be HIV positive • A woman whose partner is a migrant miner is 8% more likely to become infected with HIV • Coupled with the TB in the mines

  5. BALANCING THE GREEN AND THE BROWN AGENDA • Review of EIA legislation in 10 countries and pilot testing of an institutional self assessment tool (the EA Barometer) in 7 countries have revealed gaps in EA policy and practice: • The social (including health and HIV) does not currently attract the same attention by developers, regulators, practitioners due to:- • Low capacities • Narrow definition of the term environment • Unwillingness of developers to invest in social assessments and interventions • Weak monitoring of mitigation plans

  6. THE GOAL AND OBJECTIVES OF THE UNDP/AFDB PROJECT • Enhanced ability of governments and key EA actors to better integrate gender and health (HIV) issues into the management of Environmental Assessment processes. • Increase awareness of decision makers, CSO and environmental assessment practitioners on the HIV/large infrastructure links • Assist officials who plan, administer and manage impact assessments to also consider gender and health (HIV) • Assist environmental assessment practitioners to work closely with NAA, MoH, Gender related institutions, Human Rght organizations, CSOs in properly assessing HIV and gender impacts • Strengthen existing legal and institutional frameworks and EA practice to ensure that HIV and gender-related issues are better integrated

  7. SO WHAT HAVE WE DONE SO FAR? • Reviewed legislation in 10 countries AND Held high level advocacy workshops in 8 ESA countries (2011) • Development of a guideline launched jointly by UNDP & AfDB and ToTsessions covering almost 200 government officials from 10 countries conducted (2012/2013) • Trained EIA experts (from the private sector) in partnership with IAIASA (2013) • 50 CSO sectors of SANAC trained (2014) • 8 countries involved in the project: With AfDB, project will scale up to cover 20 countries

  8. PARTNERS

  9. CHALLENGES AND WAY FORWARD • Challenges • Weak understanding of and a lack of willingness by developers to invest in social interventions • Confusion on the role of developers, government and civil society in terms of the planning, programming &execution of social intervention related to EA • Lack of general indicators to monitor social impacts and interventions within the EIA process • Weak accountability mechanisms • Way Forward • Awareness-raising at Africa Union & RECs’ level • Advocacy & Capacity Building for country and regional stakeholders • Strong partnerships between UNDP, AfDB and the AUC, UNEP, ILO, IOM, WHO,RECS • Revamping inter-ministerial committees on environment • Promote research to generate and share knowledge

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