Public policy and management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Public policy and management - Essay Example This paper shall now discuss the major international policy measures and governance arrangements which have been put in place to address HIV/AIDS in Africa. Discussion The international policy measures for HIV/AIDS in Africa are tied in with the US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). This program is focused on health system strengthening which highlights the clinical administrative systems and the building of networks for the management of HIV/AIDS (HRSA, 2011). The HRSA program is also meant to cover innovative care and support models in order to reduce barriers to treatment. In the implementation of the above strategies, the HRSA often coordinates with the in-country measures of implementation. It also secures government relations with the country involved and seeks to manage grants and cooperative agreements (HRSA, 2011). There are various activities which the HRSA seeks to implement in Africa. The first activity is on improving HIV/AIDS care and treatment by secu ring resources for organizations in the delivery of HIV care and treatment and to expand antiretroviral therapy among lower-income patients (Kendall, 2011, p. 1). These activities are being implemented in Botswana, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambian (HRSA, 2011). This activity has now covered the care of about 477,000 individuals and ART for about 180,000 AIDS sufferers. Such expansion in activities has been made possible by the increased funding for new and locally-based partners (Kendall, 2011, p. 1). The second activity by the HRSA was on the increase of health manpower and institutional capacity (Lyght, 2008, p. 3). This activity has been made possible through quality improvement capacity development which has been set forth to build a diverse international program in strengthening human capacity for AIDS care. The HIVQUAL International is considered one of the programs which provide systematic methods in assessing quality of care in clini cal settings (HRSA, 2011). This has also been used in different countries where AIDS services are being issued. It ensures use of limited resources and improves quality of HIV care based on national guidelines. Another aspect of this activity is on training capacity development (Lyght, 2008, p. 3). The goal is to improve the capacity of local institutions in preventing and treating HIV patients. This program is meant to issue technical assistance in terms of planning and design of training programs (Lyght, 2008, p. 3). It currently operates in Botswana, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Malawi, and even China (HRSA, 2011). This activity also fosters capacity building. The goal of this program is to strengthen the professional capacity of nurses trained to care for HIV patients (Lyght, 2008, p. 3). This program currently operates in South Africa and Swaziland. The next aspect of this activity is on twinning partnerships (AIHA, 2010, p. 4). The goal of this program is to carry out partnerships between organizations and programs in the US and in developing nations in terms of information exchange and in building human resources capacity. This program is currently being implemented in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Botswana (HRSA, 2011). Finally, under this activity, new partners initiatives are also implemented.