Social Sector Co-operation

In acknowledgement of the truism that social investment in education yields greater and more sustainable returns to nations and individuals than any other form of investment the European Commission has prioritised support to the education and training sectors since 1986. Priority areas in the 2003-06 Multi-annual Indicative Programme include: HIV/AIDS in education and schools infrastructure improvement.

The Schools' Infrastructure Support Programme (SISP) forms part of the EC Human Resources Development Strategy as defined in the 2003-06 MIP. It identifies equitable access and sustainable provision of social services as priority areas for co-operation. One of the objectives of this Strategy is to assist South Africa in addressing the nationwide backlog in schools' infrastructure and services. An estimated 4.9 million learners in 12,300 schools are being educated either in the open air or in structures which do not meet the minimum requirements detailed in the Department of Education's “Norms & Standards for Schools”.

The SISP is a 4-year Programme, valued at €60 million that responds to these needs. It aims at providing school facilities (primarily classrooms, furniture and fittings, water, sanitation, electricity etc. and to a lesser extent, laboratories, libraries) to at least 150 targeted under-resourced schools, catering for approximately 100,000 learners in three of the country's poorest provinces, i.e. Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal and Limpopo. The Programme will promote a multi-sectoral approach to the provision of schools infrastructure, taking into account gender, HIV/AIDS and environmental concerns. An integral component of the SISP focuses on capacity building at national, provincial and school levels.

The Higher Education HIV & AIDS Programme (HEAIDS), which will be implemented from 2005-2009, represents a nationally coordinated large-scale effort to develop and strengthen the capacity, systems and structures of all Higher Education Institutions to prevent, manage, and mitigate the causes, challenges and consequences of HIV/AIDS in the sub-sector, which currently comprises 23 institutions (Universities, Universities of Technology and National Institutes) with a total of 675,000 students, 23,000 academic staff and 10,000 administrative staff. The student population contains the age-related most-at-risk segment of South African society.

The €20 million HEAIDS Programme supports learning and knowledge of development across six result areas, and will replicate best practice and facilitate feedback on implementation and sustainability. It promotes the provision of appropriate and sustainable services and programmes for both staff and students. Programme implementation will be undertaken by Higher Education South Africa (HESA) under the management control of the Department of Education.

Since 1998 the SAQA Project has provided developmental support to the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), established by the SAQA Act in 1995 to regulate and implement a new National Qualifications Framework (NQF), a key mechanism for bringing about coherence within the education and training sector. Implementation of the SAQA Project ended on 30 June 2005. Despite operating in an environment of uncertainty since 2002, the project has remained committed to and focused on the achievement of its planned results and purpose. The €14 million that the European Community committed to the SAQA Project has assisted SAQA to develop and implement a cutting-edge NQF that serves as a model for both developed and developing countries world-wide.

The Labour Market Skills Development Programme (LMSDP) which came to a conclusion on 31 December 2004, provided technical assistance and expertise to the Department of Labour for systems and capacity development related to the introduction of a new, equitable, integrated skills development system. The final evaluation indicated that the results of this highly relevant Programme had been achieved in an efficient and effective manner, that its impact had been high, and that the likelihood of its positive outcomes being sustained, was also high.

Technical and Business Education Initiative in South Africa (TABEISA) Phase 2 commenced in 2004 as a follow-up phase to TABEISA Phase 1. It focuses on addressing the problems of

The project will contribute towards fostering, developing and realising economic and social development within disadvantaged communities in South Africa. Its purpose, which has to be achieved by the end of the project period, is to generate increased employment from previously disadvantaged groups through dissemination of entrepreneurial skills and creation of confidence towards development of small business. This second phase of TABEISA will be implemented over a period of 3yrs and the European Commission (EC) contribution towards the project is € 4,950,000.

During 2004 the EPRD implemented 7 projects in this sector, to which the European Union committed €168 million.

Since the beginning of 2003 there were a number of important developments in the health sector to which the EC Programmes of support were able to contribute. Two new pieces of legislation were tabled: The National Health Bill and the Tobacco Amendments Bill. The National Health Bill is detailed and complex and covers a wide range of topics: definitions, purposes and responsibilities for health; the rights and duties of users and health care providers; the structures and functions of the National Department of Health, Provincial Departments of Health and District Health; the responsibilities of health establishments; the role of health information systems; the functions and compliance regulations of health officers and a number of general regulations.

The National Health Bill has been generally welcomed although a number of areas remain controversial. Most notably are the need for health practitioners to obtain a “certificate of need” to practice in a given geographical area and the decision with regard to the decentralisation of responsibility for District Health Services which has been placed with Provincial Health Departments - it is unclear to what extent Provinces are able or willing to transfer management responsibilities to Municipalities. The Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill consolidates South Africa's position as a world leader in addressing the problems of tobacco use. Also, the Minister of Health announced that Health Services would be provided free of charge to Disabled People.

Perhaps the most significant development was the Cabinet announcement in August 2003 that it had instructed the National Department of Health to urgently proceed with the development of a plan to provide anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment in State facilities to HIV positive patients where it was clinically indicated. A Task Team was formed to which a number of working groups reported. Several EC funded Technical Assistants contributed to the work of these groups.

In December 2003 the ARV component of the Department of Health's comprehensive HIV strategy was published. The strategy is amongst the largest and most ambitious worldwide and concentrates on all aspects of the continuum of care for HIV especially focusing upon prevention. The provision of ARVs alone is not seen as a panacea that will solve the problems of HIV and AIDS. Adequate nutrition as a means of improving the immune system of HIV positive and negative patients alike is recognised as being of critical importance. So too does the role of Traditional Healers in the network of care professionals for those who are HIV positive and people with AIDS. In this regard an Institute has been established to further examine, understand and promote the work of Traditional Healers.

Community Health Workers (CHWs), another important cadre of healthcare worker, also received attention during the year. A meeting chaired by the Minister of Health and strongly supported by the European Commission programmes brought together many CHWs, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other stakeholders to discuss and clarify the role of CHWs. CHWs who previously had an “un-official” national status have now been formally recognised (some Provincial Health Departments recognized them previously). Plans are now underway to develop a curriculum for training and accreditation.

The European Commission supported an international meeting commemorating 25 years of the Alma Ata Declaration which highlighted the importance of Primary Health Care. The South African Government recommitted itself to the principles of Alma Ata and issued a further declaration in this regard.

The Health and Population sector is a major beneficiary of EPRD funding. Cooperation with the Department of Health has been ongoing since 1994, and continues with two current programmes.

The Public Health Sector Support Programme began in 2000 and has reached a stage of consistent delivery towards attaining objectives. During 2003 the timeframe was extended from July 2003 to December 2004, and further funding of €5m was added to the Programme budget. The Programme covers four key areas of health service management and intervention, and in the area of HIV/AIDS operates with a synergy between public sector development and delivery and interventions provided by six civil society actors (NGOs). It is anticipated that 100% absorption of funds will be achieved.

Partnerships for the Delivery of Primary Health Care (including HIV/AIDS) contributes to the Government policy of ensuring health care delivery through a combination of public and private sector agencies. The Programme assists five provinces in developing and contracting identified priority health care provision in selected districts or municipalities through non-profit organisations, targeting especially HIV/AIDS. In doing so, it is intended also that service provision NGOs become more effective in contributing to care from within the broader health service, rather than as separately funded external agents. Systems and structure development have been the main thrust so far, but at the end of 2003 these were in place to move towards effective delivery in 2004.

The Financing Agreement for a new regional water Programme, the Support Programme for the Water Sector in SADC, was signed in 2003. By means of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of South Africa and the SADC Secretariat, the responsibility for implementation of this Programme has been transferred to the SADC Secretariat. The overall objective of this Programme is to support the sustainable integrated planning and management of water resources and through this contribute to the attainment of SADC's overall objective of an integrated regional economy on the basis of balance, equity and mutual benefit for all Member States. Activities have commenced in three of the four result areas of the Programme. A water and sanitation expert is being appointed to the SADC Water Division. The SADC Regional Strategic Action Plan for Integrated Water Resource Management has been under evaluation and a revised version prepared and approved by the SADC Ministers. An implementation manual for this strategy has also been prepared. Procurement for the Maputo Basin Comprehensive Water Resources study has commenced with the appointment of a procurement specialist and the issuing of a Call for Expression of Interest. The Programme Manager for SADC HYCOS phase 2 has been appointed. The preparation of a detailed action plan for this Programme and the recruitment of other members of the PMU are underway.

Support to the SA government to address the critical situation in the water and sanitation sector, through infrastructure improvements, capacity building and activities relating to basic water supply and sanitation services continued in 2004 with the signing of the Masibambane II Financing Agreement. The overall objective of this 50 million euro sector support Programme is to improve the quality of life of poor communities by improving their access to adequate, safe, appropriate and affordable basic water supply and sanitation services provided by effective, efficient and sustainable institutions, which are accountable and responsive to those whom they serve. The Programme has been operational for 18 months and to date 26 million euro has been disbursed to the implementing agent, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. Assessment of performance of the Programme against the agreed indicators has shown that 90% of the Programme objectives were met during the first year of implementation of the Programme.