1.0 BACKGROUND. guide the response from

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1 National AIDS Commission 1.0 BACKGROUND The Government of Malawi established the National AIDS Commission (NAC), as a public trust in July 2001 to provide overall leadership and coordination of the national response to HIV and AIDS. It replaced the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) that was in operation from 1987 to 2001 as a division of the Ministry of Health responsible for the battle against HIV and AIDS from the biomedical perspective. The NACP was transformed and restructured to become a Commission in order to respond to an expanded national HIV and AIDS response in Malawi. The Commission was established following Government realization that the response to HIV and AIDS pandemic required a multi-sectoral approach and interaction between HIV and AIDS and broader issues of population, economic development and management, social service provision, culture, community development, human rights and gender. From its inception in 2001, the activities coordinated by the Commission followed the National HIV and AIDS Strategic Framework, (NSF) which contributed to the National Health Plan and was part of the Government strategy of poverty reduction. The NSF developed in 2000,guided and provided direction to all HIV and AIDS interventions in the country for the period The NSF expired at the end of October 2004 and led to the development of a new National HIV and A I D S A c t i o n Framework (NAF) to Standing in front are Dr. Yohane and Dr. Gangile Phiri traditional health practioners, guide the response from during an HIV and AIDS stakeholders meeting 2005 to The overall goal of the NAF is 'to prevent the spread of HIV infection among Malawians, provide access to treatment for people living with HIV and AIDS and mitigate the health, social economic and psychosocial impact of HIV and AIDS on individuals, families, communities and the nation' Page 1 National AIDS Commission

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5 d. Developing and sustaining a dynamic institutional framework for planning, delivery and evaluation of HIV and AIDS programmes. 5.0 M A N A G E M E N T A N D INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK The Commission is composed of a Board of Commissioners and a Secretariat. The Board is responsible for policy guidance, advocacy for support and resource mobilization, approval of work plans and recruitment of the Commission's senior members of staff. The Board comprises highly qualified and experienced commissioners in different areas of expertise. Some members of the NAC Board of commissioners The Secretariat is headed by the Executive Director who has oversight on programme planning and operations, management of resources and maintenance of partnerships with agencies supporting HIV and AIDS programmes. The Executive Director is supported by two Directorates namely: Directorate of Policy and Programmes and Directorate of Finance and Administration. The Executive Director is also supported by a stand alone Department of Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Research. a. NAC Executive Director Dr. Bizwick Mwale Directorate of Policy and Programmes-the directorate is responsible for ensuring that the national response is comprehensive in its coverage and that all implementing partners deliver complementary programmes and that their approaches are consistent with national policy. The directorate oversees the functions of the following units: i. Behaviour Change Interventions The unit coordinates HIV prevention through development of behaviour change strategies, coordination of behaviour change interventions, and provision of technical support to agencies engaged in behaviour change activities. It is also responsible for providing accurate information on HIV and AIDS and monitoring of interventions aimed at behaviour change. The unit has four sections namely Advocacy, Community Mobilization, Communications and Information Youth take part in the fiight against HIV and AIDS Management. National AIDS Commission Page 5

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