Abstract:
The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has operated in South Africa since 2003 and invested over $4.2 billion towards South Africa's HIV/AIDS response. South Africa was the largest recipient of PEPFAR funding until 2012, when it was announced PEPFAR's budget would decrease from $550 million to $250 million by 2017. During this time agreements (Partnership Framework and Partnership Framework Implementation Plan (PFIP) were signed, laying out PEPFAR's plans to continue to support the South African National Strategic Plan for HIV and AIDS and improve the effectiveness of the HIV/AIDS response through health systems strengthening. The PFIP also outlined the initiatives which fell under the umbrella of "transition": The transition of PEPFAR's reduced financial support for HIV and AIDS in South Africa and the shift in focus from direct service delivery to health systems strengthening and capacity building.
The following case study is a description of the Transition Management experience in South Africa in the PFIF context. The primary interest of this research is to understand the extent to which the South African National HIV/AIDS Programme is ready to take up full local ownership of the gains supported by the PEPFAR partnership. The research will also explore lessons concerning the transition to local ownership and address possible Public-Private Partnership engagement, in order to sustain gains and develop efficiencies within the programme.
In order to respond the objectives of the research, this study will be qualitative in nature, more specifically it will take a developmental approach. This research will also aim to generate lessons concerning the transition to local ownership, so as to guide implementation strategies throughout the transition process, and inform similar processes elsewhere.
