Support to the Alliance of Mayors Initiative for Community Action on AIDS at local level (AMICAALL)
Background
The Alliance of Mayors Initiative for Community Action on AIDS at the Local level (AMICAALL) is a growing network of local government authorities, mayors and municipal leaders committed to supporting sustainable responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic at the local urban level from both the national and continental sides. The initiative arose from the need to address high HIV prevalence in African cities and the need to build capacity and coordinate HIV/AIDS response in urban authorities.
The Alliance has been expanding since it started in the late 1990s. To date, the network has national chapters in 13 African countries: Uganda, Namibia, Swaziland, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Mali, Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Central African Republic and Kenya. AMICAALL Uganda Chapter was launched in November 2002 and is comprised of all designated urban authorities in the country.
Development objectives
enhance advocacy and leadership for HIV/AIDS in urban local governments
institutional capacity development for effective HIV/AIDS response in urban local governments
strengthen coordination of the multi-sectoral response to HIV/AIDS in urban local governments
facilitate the development of partnerships and networks for HIV/AIDS response at local and international levels
mobilize resources to support HIV/AIDS initiatives in urban local governments
Key activities
develop the capacity of the urban local leadership in strengthening HIV/AIDS response in urban areas
conduct capacity building programmes for the urban leadership and officials to mainstream HIV/AIDS in the planning framework
develop strategic partnerships at national and international levels to enhance HIV/AIDS response in urban local governments
conduct a situation analysis report on human rights and risk factors among the urban orphans and vulnerable children (OVC)
launch and operationalise an AMICAALL OVC psychological support centre in Kampala
support the urban councils to develop by-laws that promote and protect child rights
establish urban council task forces in the war-torn northern region and build capacity of these task forces
Expected results
The project has created foundations for partnership, multi-sectoral action, local level interventions, sustainability and scaling up in urban areas in Uganda. By creating partner foundations, it has helped to bridge the gap between the districts and municipality leadership, who are thereby better enabled to collectively respond to the epidemic. In addition to fostering grassroots response and coordination among the urban local governments, the project has stimulated the urban leadership to lead the response to HIV/AIDS concerns in the urban local government planning and development frameworks.
Implementation phase
HIV and AIDS mainstreaming and the development of HIV/AIDS workplace policy guidelines are currently underway.
