the
HIV/AIDS
Leading
Against Partnership
Government Local
Summary Report of
the Evaluation of the
Master Trainers Programme
Department of Health
Chief Directorate: HIV/AIDS, STDs and TB
Interdepartmental Support Programme
Department of Provincial and Local Government
Department of Social Development
Chief Directorate:
Population and Development


SALGA
South African Local Government Association
Acknowledgments
Thanks are extended to the programme partners, the members of the Local Government
Programme Steering Committee, the Master Trainers and the trainees who participated in
the evaluation.
This publication is intended to support HIV/AIDS training and related activities. It may be
freely reviewed, quoted, reproduced, translated or distributed, in part or in full, provided
the source is acknowledged. Distribution for remuneration is not permitted.
To obtain further copies, contact Busi Makhanya at The Department of Health at
Tel: 012-312-0029, or Fax: 012-323-7323, or Email: kniggn@health.gov.za
Cover design, layout & artwork by Into the Limelight
Photographs by Eric Miller and Bonny Jennings
Local Government Leading the
Partnership Against HIV/AIDS
Summary Report of the Evaluation of the Master Trainers Programme
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND DISCLAIMER
This report was supported in part by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/South Africa under the terms of contract
HRN-C-00-00-00006-00. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the USAID or the POLICY Project.
Written by
Kevin Kelly & Rose Smart
Research team
K Kelly
P Ntlabati
C Fawcett
Evaluation of the MT Programme <i>
Commissioned by
The POLICY Project and The Local Government
Programme Steering Committee Conducted by
The Centre for AIDS Development, Research and Evaluation
CADRE
Rhodes University
PO Box 94
Grahamstown 6140
SOUTH AFRICA
Tel: +27-46-603-8553
Fax: +27-46-622-4032
website: http://www.cadre.org
Project Partners .............................................................. 1
Acronyms ............................................................................ 2
Part I: History of the local government
programme ........................................................................ 3
Local government joining the Partnership Against AIDS .................................................... 3
Master Trainers programme ................................................................................................ 3
Rollout training programme ................................................................................................. 3
Background to the evaluation of the Master Trainers programme ................................... 3
Methodologies ...................................................................................................................... 3
Indicators.............................................................................................................................. 3
Part II: Evaluation findings ....................................... 7
TRAINING THE MASTER TRAINERS ..................................... 7
Workshop for Master Trainers ............................................................................................. 7
Identified areas for further training ..................................................................................... 7
Post training needs............................................................................................................... 7
ROLLOUT TRAINING PROGRAMME .................................... 8
Rollout training workshops .................................................................................................. 8
Trainee selection .................................................................................................................... 8
Administration and logistics ................................................................................................. 8
Training ................................................................................................................................... 8
Post training record keeping ............................................................................................... 9
Outcomes of training ............................................................................................................ 9
Implementation challenges ................................................................................................. 10
On-going support for trainees .......................................................................................... 10
Part III: Recommendations ........................................ 11
MANAGEMENT OF THE PROGRAMME .............................. 11
Administration and support ................................................................................................ 11
Co-ordination ....................................................................................................................... 11
The role of DPLG ................................................................................................................. 11
MASTER TRAINERS PROGRAMME ..................................... 11
Master Trainers ................................................................................................................... 11
Trainee selection .................................................................................................................. 12
MT follow-up and rollout training content.......................................................................... 12
Post training implementation .............................................................................................. 12
Networking and support for trainees................................................................................ 12
Part IV: Conclusion ...................................................... 14
Contents
<ii> Local Government Leading the Partnership Against AIDS
Programme Partners
The Local Government Programme Steering Committee is comprised of representa￾tives from the programme partners, which are:
The Department of Provincial and Local
Government (DPLG)
DPLG is involved in supporting the development of integrated development plans
that mainstream HIV/AIDS in development planning.
DPLG has played a relatively minor role in the programme, acting mainly in an
advisory capacity.
The Department of Social Development (DSD),
National Population Unit (now the Chief
Directorate: Population and Development)
The Chief Directorate: Population and Development developed a national training
programme aimed at Government planners at national, provincial and local level.
 The LG programme was originally planned to run concurrently with the DSD
programme for planners, but certain practical considerations made this impossible.
The main involvement of DSD has therefore been in guiding the Master Training
programme evaluation.
The main responsibilities for the Master Trainers (MT) training of trainers (TOT)
workshop, the rollout of the MT training and the evaluation were jointly carried by
the Inter-departmental Support Programme (ISP), South African Local Government
Association (SALGA), including its provincial offices, and the POLICY Project, with
each assuming different roles.
The Department of Health, Chief Directorate:
HIV/AIDS, STDs and TB – Inter-departmental Support
Programme (ISP)
The Inter-departmental Support Programme is responsible for facilitating inter￾governmental collaboration and training on HIV/AIDS.
Role: programme planning, overall co-ordination, funding and administrative
support.
The South African Local Government Association
(SALGA)
SALGA is mandated by the Constitution to assist in the transformation of local
government, is involved in training and capacity building of local government
leaders, and represents local government on the South African National AIDS
Council (SANAC).
Role: identification of MTs, identification of training venues, recruitment of LG
trainees and provincial co-ordination of logistical arrangements for training
workshops.
The POLICY Project
The POLICY Project is an international contracting agency to USAID/South Africa,
with significant experience in the field of HIV/AIDS-related training and advocacy
and provides support to HIV/AIDS programmes.
Role: development of MT training course and facilitation, provision of rollout
training materials and limited co-funding.
Evaluation of the MT Programme <1>
Acronyms
!AIDS Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
!CBO Community based organisation
!DOH Department of Health
!DPLG Department of Provincial and Local Government
!GAAP Government AIDS Action Plan
!HIV Human immunodeficiency virus
!ISP Inter-departmental Support Programme within the
National Department of Health, Chief Directorate:
HIV/AIDS, STDs and TB
!IDP Integrated Development Plan
!LG Local government
!MT Master Trainer
!NGO Non-governmental organisation
!NPU National Population Unit (now the Chief Directorate:
Population and Development within the Department of
Social Development)
!PHC Primary health care
!PLGA Provincial Local Government Association
!SALGA South African Local Government Association
!TOT Training of trainers (Master Trainers workshop)
Note on the Terms Used
The term ‘trainees’ refers collectively to officials and councillors
who attended the rollout training programme.
<2> Local Government Leading the Partnership Against AIDS
This summary report was developed for distribution to all those
who have been involved, in any way, with the Local Government
HIV/AIDS Programme.
It will also be of interest to other stakeholders responsible for
developing or expanding their organisation’s response to HIV/
AIDS.
It contains lessons that will be relevant for local government in
neighbouring countries.
The full evaluation report is available on the CADRE website:
http://www.cadre.org.
PART I:
History of the Local Government Programme
In addition, the programme recognised the potential for local government to
address HIV/AIDS as a development issue, based on the Constitutional mandate of
local government, which is:
! To provide democratic and accountable government for local communities;
! To ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable
manner;
! To promote social and economic development;
! To promote a safe and healthy environment; and
! To encourage the involvement of communities and community
organisations in the matters of local government.
Master Trainers programme
A Local Government Programme Steering Committee was established in 2001, with
representation from all the project partners, and with the purpose of planning and
implementing an HIV/AIDS training programme for local government councillors and
officials. This took the form of a five-day training of trainers workshop (TOT) for a
group of 20 Master Trainers, which took place in May 2001, facilitated by the
POLICY Project.
With the exception of one of the Master Trainers, all were or had been councillors,
or had extensive involvement in local government. All had received training as
trainers, mostly for the purpose of local government capacity building. Seventy two
percent of the MTs had had previous HIV/AIDS training, though in general this was
once-off and not comprehensive.
The power to defeat the spread of HIV and AIDS lies in our Partnership: as
youth, as women and men, as business people, as workers, as religious people,
as parents and teachers, as students, as healers, as farmers and farm workers,
as the unemployed and the professionals, as the rich and the poor – in fact, all
of us.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT THABO MBEKI
9 October 1998
Local government joining the Partnership
Against AIDS
In October 1998, the Partnership Against AIDS was launched by the Government of
South Africa, challenging all spheres of government to become involved in address￾ing the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
In response, in January 2001, the Inter-departmental Support Programme (ISP)
within the National Department of Health, Chief Directorate: HIV/AIDS, STDs and
TB and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), supported by the
POLICY Project, initiated a programme to develop and support local government
responses to HIV/AIDS.
The programme built on the successes of two initiatives – the experience of SALGA
in training local government leaders, and a training programme for local govern￾ment representatives (councillors and officials) that was piloted in KwaZulu-Natal
in 2000. The KwaZulu-Natal pilot utilised a Local Government HIV/AIDS Toolkit
that was developed to support local government responses to HIV/AIDS.
“It turned my thinking around. I would speak about AIDS all the time.”
“I talked about AIDS everywhere. In religious circles, in my business, I tackle
them all the time and talk about it.”
COMMENTS FROM MASTER TRAINERS ON THE TOT WORKSHOP
Evaluation of the MT Programme <3>
<4> Local Government Leading the Partnership Against AIDS
Content Outputs
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
!Demonstrate an understanding of the basic HIV/AIDS
facts
!Provide guidance on the current debates around
HIV/AIDS
!Explore their personal perceptions of, and clarify their
values regarding HIV/AIDS
!Analyse the impact of HIV/AIDS at the individual, family,
community and societal levels
!Explore the links between the HIV/AIDS epidemic and
development
!Interpret the Constitutional and legal developmental
functions of local government
!Identify the comparative advantages of local government
to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic
!Provide a model for a local government response
!Discuss the elements of an internal or workplace
response and an external or mainstreamed response
!Explain advocacy principles and practices and develop
an example for local government
!Apply planning concepts and tools to develop an
HIV/AIDS plan for local government
Methodology and Process Outputs
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
! Demonstrate interactive participatory training techniques
! Use the HIV/AIDS Toolkit within a training context
! Access information from a range of training resources
! Provide a programme for the rollout training workshops
! Discuss a training schedule for the rollout training workshops
! Clarify the logistical arrangements for the rollout training
! Describe the relationship with other related initiatives (NPU)
! Compile a monitoring and evaluation plan for the rollout training
The Outputs of TOT were defined as follows:
Rollout training programme
The TOT workshop was followed, from July to October 2001, by a rollout training
programme for selected trainees with responsibility for developing more effective
HIV/AIDS responses in their municipalities. Eighteen workshops, each over 3 ½
days, were held – one in Gauteng and the Western Cape, three in the Eastern Cape
and Northern Cape and two in each of the remaining provinces.
Identification and selection of the trainees was facilitated by the Provincial Local
Government Associations (PLGAs), funding and administrative support was
provided by ISP and training resources were supplied by the POLICY Project.
Background to the evaluation of the Master
Trainers programme
In October 2001, the POLICY Project proposed an evaluation of the MT programme
and subsequent rollout training. The terms of reference were developed, and
subsequently approved by the Local Government Programme Steering Committee.
CADRE, the Centre for AIDS Development, Research and Evaluation was appointed
to conduct the evaluation. The evaluation took place between April and July 2002.
The tasks defined fell into three categories:
1. To evaluate the Master Trainer programme by:
Assessing the original Master Trainers workshop (for example, were the Master
Trainers adequately trained to fulfil their role as trainers within the provinces?)
Assessing the rollout training workshops from the perspective of the Master
Trainers (for example, to what extent were the Master Trainers able to transform
and utilise the initial training they received and facilitate a series of training
workshops within their provinces? What successes and obstacles did they encounter
in implementing their training?)
Targets
Conduct 1 workshop for Master
Trainers and 23 rollout training
workshops
Train 18 Master Trainers
Train 285 LG councillors
Train 285 LG officials
TOTAL: 588
Budget: R690 000
(= R1 177 per person trained)
Achievement
One Master Trainers and 18 rollout
training workshops conducted
20 Master Trainers trained
251 LG trainees trained (unspecified:
councillors or officials)
75 LG councillors trained
83 LG officials trained
TOTAL: 429
Expenditure: R600 0001
(= R1 398 per person trained)
Assessing the rollout training workshops from the perspective of the LG trainees
(for example, do the trainees feel that the training they received was appropriate
and useful and will it assist them in their HIV/AIDS-related responsibilities within
their LG structures?)
Reviewing the extent to which the different partners responsible for the develop￾ment and implementation of the joint programme (ie. DOH, DPLG, SALGA) felt that
the programme accomplished its aim and objectives.
2. To assess the impact of the training on emerging
LG responses to HIV/AIDS from the point of view of:
The LG trainees (for example, what successes and obstacles have they encountered
in implementing their plans post the workshop?)
Other key informants (for example, officials from Provincial LG Associations,
Mayors, representatives from Provincial AIDS Councils).
1 The expenditure does not reflect the cost of time for the IDS,
SALGA and PLGA staff or for their administrative costs Evaluation of the MT Programme <5>
3. To develop documentation that:
Describes the lessons learned (for example, is the Master Trainer
route effective and/or cost-effective?)
Identifies ‘model’ participants (Master Trainers or LG trainees)
and/or ‘best practice’ initiatives and case studies (of integrating
HIV/AIDS into core functions and responsibilities in the post-training
period)
Makes recommendations for future action and support (for example,
what additional support do the LG trainees require to initiate, imple￾ment and/or strengthen their HIV/AIDS activities?)
Methodologies
The following methodologies were used in the evaluation:
!A review of programme documents, such as minutes of meetings,
training materials and reports;
!A review of background documentation on local government;
!Interviews with 7 key stakeholders, programme developers and
administrators;
!Interviews with selected Master Trainers from different provinces;
!Three site visits to municipalities – uMhlatuze and Uthungulu
(Empangeni-Richards Bay) in KwaZulu-Natal, Polokwane and Capri￾corn (Pietersburg) in Limpopo Province, and Emthanjeni and Bo
Karoo (De Aar) in Northern Cape - involving interviews with offi￾cials, councillors and local HIV/AIDS programme managers. This
sample represented three B municipalities and three C municipali￾ties and formed the basis for developing in-depth case studies;
!A questionnaire survey of Master Trainers; and
!A questionnaire survey of a random sample of 135 trainees
from all provinces.
!A 100% return rate of the questionnaires was obtained from
the MTs and a 58% return rate from trainees.
!Analysis of the data was done and presented to the Local
Government Programme Steering Committee prior to the
final report being submitted.
Indicators
The following indicators of programme outputs and outcomes were
used as reference points in developing the evaluation protocols:
! Efficacy of implementation;
! Evidence of Master Trainers acquiring appropriate skills;
! Evidence of positive training experiences on the part of trainees;
! Evidence of appropriate local government activity resulting from
the programme;
! Evidence of impact on working together of officials and
Councillors;
! Synchronisation of the programme with other programmes,
municipal affairs and planning;
! Evidence of the need for the programme; and
! Evidence of the value of the programme.
In addition to the above general indicators, it emerged in reporting
back preliminary findings to the Local Government Programme
Steering Committee, that it might be of value to examine the differ￾ences between the responses of local government officials and those
of councillors.
Participants were very eager to learn and understood clearly what
the impact of HIV/AIDS in their communities was and is. Their
concerns were around top management awareness and commit￾ment and also the allocation of a budget to the programme. There
were also specific needs concerning rural communities, where for
example, the lack of infrastructure (such as roads) prohibits the
dissemination of adequate information.
COMMENT FROM A MASTER TRAINER
ON THE ROLLOUT WORKSHOPS
<6> Local Government Leading the Partnership Against AIDS
Training the Master Trainers
Workshop for Master Trainers
The workshop was largely successful in developing a motivated, available and fairly
skilled group of provincially based MTs. They have backgrounds in LG training and
were able to develop sufficient expertise in HIV/AIDS issues at LG level to success￾fully run training workshops for local government officials and councillors.
! Their perceptions of the training were measured in three categories:
! The success of the workshop in motivating them;
! The extent to which the workshop provided them with the necessary
knowledge to run training workshops; and
! The training provided in presentation and facilitation skills.
! Their responses are depicted in the graph below.
Identified areas for further training
MTs generally felt the need to improve their understanding of the medical aspects
of HIV/AIDS, especially since many of those they trained were professionally trained
health workers.
Concerning the medical aspects of HIV/AIDS they felt the need to know more about:
the relationship of HIV/AIDS and STIs; opportunistic infections; the difference
between CD4 counts and viral loads; and antiretroviral drugs and side-effects.
Some of the MTs felt that the training could have had a greater emphasis on LG
issues including: more specific input on local government responses to HIV/AIDS
and examples of this; review of the current relevant legislation, regulations and
policies; more input on the impact of HIV/AIDS on different sectors of LG and
society; and more input on the economic aspects of HIV/AIDS. It was also felt that
specific issues to do with mobilising gender and youth responses could have been
dealt with in greater depth, and more attention could have been paid to under￾standing the role of counselling in HIV/AIDS. The last related to a general concern
to know more about ways of addressing the need for care and support of people
directly affected by HIV/AIDS.
Post training needs
MTs expressed the need for a mechanism to discuss training exercises and facilita￾tion experiences with MTs from other provinces.
A strongly felt need was to update MTs on current issues in an ongoing way, rather
than only through training programmes. The idea of a network of MTs and trainees
was strongly supported.
PART II:
Evaluation Findings
The findings are presented under two sub-headings:
! Training the Master Trainers; and
! Rollout training programme
Presentation/Facilitation Skills
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Motivation Knowledge Provision
Excellent Good Satisfactory Weak Very Weak
Perceived value of master training workshop
Evaluation of the MT Programme <7>
Rollout Training Programme
Rollout training workshops
Eighteen 3 ½-day workshops were conducted by the MTs in all
provinces which resulted in 429 trainees being trained.
Trainee selection
Trainees were mostly (82%) recruited from B Municipalities. The
proportion of councillors and officials was approximately equal.
Trainee selection was not done uniformly, or optimally, as indicated by a
selection of comments from the trainees.
Trainees were asked to assess a number of elements, namely:
! Their motivation after the workshop;
! Levels of participation and discussion during the workshop;
! Clarity of the expectations of them after the workshop; and
! The opportunity to discuss future plans and specific local
issues.
The following graph depicts their responses.
Administration and logistics
Administration of the programme proved more onerous and time consum￾ing than was originally anticipated. This function was borne mainly by
ISP and SALGA (national and provincial).
Organisation of rollout training workshops, which required close
co-ordination of activities conducted by different agencies, proved to be
particularly challenging. This had a negative impact on the earlier
training workshops, but was largely remedied as the programme
progressed.
Training
The rollout training programme was mainly well received by
participants and proved to be a positive learning experience
for them.
Instructed by my supervisor.
Nominated by Mayor’s office.
I was the Portfolio Head for Community Services.
Through dedication and activism.
RESPONSES FROM TRAINEES ON THEIR SELECTION
The training was more positively evaluated by councillors than officials
– as indicated in the graph on the next page – which reflects one of
the elements that trainees were asked to score, namely the ability of
the MTs to address questions posed to them. Despite differences
between the two groups, both demonstrated high degrees of motiva￾tion for responding to HIV/AIDS at LG level.
Of the officials, 66% had professional qualifications in the health field
whereas only 14% of councillors did. This meant that officials were
generally already much better informed about HIV/AIDS and more
directly involved in HIV/AIDS issues than were councillors. They
therefore had different needs in terms of learning about HIV/AIDS.
<8> Local Government Leading the Partnership Against AIDS
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Motivation
after workshop
Levels of
participation
and discussion
Clarity of
expectations
after workshop
Opportunity
to discuss
future plans
Opportunity
to discuss
specific local
issues
Excellent Good Satisfactory Weak Very Weak
Trainee Perspectives
Post training record keeping
There were difficulties in gathering workshop reports and attendance lists.
Contact details in attendance lists were not always complete, which was a problem
when distributing the evaluation questionnaires.
Outcomes of training
Trainees have engaged in a large range of activities as a response to the training.
There has been a strong increase in levels of activity in each of the following areas:
‘awareness raising activities’, ‘public engagement’ and ‘planning and advocacy’.
In the first category there has been a significant increase in involvement in public
education campaigns and workshops addressing HIV/AIDS activities.
Concerning public engagement there has been an increase in organising community
activities, participation in community HIV/AIDS forums and meetings, ward level
campaigns and promotion of municipal contact with and support for NGOs and CBOs
in the HIV/AIDS field.
Concerning planning and advocacy the trainees have become much more active
within their municipalities in advocating for and supporting activities aimed at
improving responses, forming HIV/AIDS committees, strategic planning, networking
with government departments and advocating for engagement with local AIDS
organisations.
Addressing questions
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Officials Councillors
Excellent Good Satisfactory Weak Very Weak
The workshop was superb. I have learned and benefited a lot from this workshop.
I feel empowered.
Though participation and discussion by participants was satisfactory, some were
unable to actively participate because the level of the workshop topics was
above their understanding.
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE COMMENTS FROM TRAINEES
In essence, it was found that the training programme was better suited to the
councillors needs in developing the interface between local government and
communities, than to officials who are more involved in the internal responses of
municipalities and in planning of services.
The participatory learning methods used in the training programme were well
received and trainees found the programme engaging and relevant. They felt,
however, that more time should have been given to discussing their own local
contexts and in developing implementation plans. Most felt that the training was
too short and 94% expressed the need for and interest in further training in the
area.
Official:
A steering committee on HIV/AIDS in partnership was formed.
Councillor:
We have found volunteers to help the sick and train people on how to deal with
HIV/AIDS.
EXAMPLES OF POST TRAINING ACTIVITIES
Evaluation of the MT Programme <9>
Councillors and officials have responded to the training in
different ways. Councillors have become notably more engaged
than officials in community outreach activities and in municipal
level HIV/AIDS activities. Officials, on the other hand, have focused
more on planning and advocacy activities.
Implementation challenges
A number of obstacles to implementation were reported by the
trainees – both institutional and individual.
Prominent institutional challenges are:
!Lack of funding for start-up projects and community networking
activities;
!Poor understanding of local resource and service provision issues;
!Poor co-ordination of services both within municipalities and
between municipalities and community service organisations;
!Poor understanding of priorities in HIV/AIDS response;
!Integrated development plans (IDPs) that are often not based on a
satisfactory analysis of the local context of an HIV/AIDS response.
This means that the implementation of plans requires the develop￾ment of such analysis;
!Poor communication between HIV/AIDS initiatives within
municipalities;
!A largely unmet need for the consolidation of municipal, civil
society and provincial government responses to HIV/AIDS through
the formation of committees and forums focusing on HIV/AIDS
issues; and
!Confusion about co-ordination functions between B (local) and
C (district) municipalities and about the responsibilities of
provincial and municipal structures in developing responses to
HIV/AIDS. This is par ticularly so in the context of the uncer￾tainty about how and where health services, including primary
health care (PHC) services, will be managed in future.
Specific individual, or personal challenges, which were or were not
a problem to the trainees, are identified in the following graph:
Individual challenges
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Time available for AIDS issues due to other demandsDo not feel knowledgable enough about AIDS Lack of clarity concerning possible personal actionNeed follow-up assistance after workshop
Strong Problem Slight Problem No Problem
On-going support for trainees
90% of MTs have been contacted by trainees for follow-up assistance
since the workshops. There is clearly a strong need for follow-up
training and support, and MTs are mostly very interested in continuing
to act as training and support facilitators for the programme. This
provides a sound basis for developing an expanded and co-ordinated
response to HIV/AIDS at municipal level which is attuned to the
workings of local government.
<10> Local Government Leading the Partnership Against AIDS
Evaluation of the MT Programme <11>
Management of the Programme
Administration and support
! There is a need for consolidation of programme administration and support
through a dedicated secretariat.
! There is a need for better monitoring of programme administration pro￾cesses and for the development of an updated list of trainees.
! The programme needs support from provincial Departments of Health and
needs to be co-ordinated with other programmes for mobilisation of
HIV/AIDS responses, notably the GAAP programmes (Government AIDS
Action Plan) at provincial level. Possibilities for this need to be investi￾gated at provincial level in each of the provinces.
Co-ordination
! The Provincial Local Government Association offices which organised the
rollout training programme proved to be an appropriate base for
co-ordination of the programme at provincial level, but their involvement
would need to be rekindled. They incurred unexpected and uncompensated
administrative and human resource costs in running the programme and this
would need to be remedied in future, if their involvement is to be ensured.
The role of DPLG
! The commitment of DPLG to the programme needs to be re-established as
this seems to have effectively lapsed. The involvement of DPLG in
supporting integrated development planning means that an association
between DPLG and the programme is necessary. The possible involvement of
provincial Departments of Local Government also needs to be explored.
Master Trainers Programme
Master Trainers
! The involvement of Master Trainers needs to be secured and terms of
reference for their future involvement discussed.
! Programme resources must focus on enhancing the value of the MTs who
understand local government, are competent trainers and have strong
interests in assisting the development of HIV/AIDS responses at this level.
! Master Trainers need follow-up training to improve and update their
understanding of HIV/AIDS and to equip them to support and mentor
trainees in the future, in response to the many requests for further
training and support which they regularly receive from trainees.
! Master Trainers require the oppor tunity to discuss their experiences of
conducting rollout training workshops, and specifically to discuss
exercises, workshop formats and facilitation challenges.
! The efforts of MTs should be connected to relevant programmes within
provincial government departments, as well as identifying sources of
support for them at provincial level.
Trainee selection
! There is a need for training of councillors and officials from municipalities
and District Councils that did not participate in the first phase of the
programme.
! Trainee selection criteria must be refined. In par ticular, a strong commit￾ment to working in the field of HIV/AIDS should be added as a selection
criterion. It should be noted that trainees with strong commitments in
other areas of local government work proved to be less active in
PART III:
Recommendations
The recommendations are categorised into:
!Those relating to management of the programme;
!Those specific to the Master Trainers programme; and
!Those related to the potential future activities of the programme.
responding to the programme than those who had opportu￾nities to devote time specifically to HIV/AIDS work.
!The programme focus in relation to the government plan￾ners training programme offered by the Department of Social
Development must be clarified. It is suggested that the
programme be specifically aimed at local government leaders in
‘B municipalities’. ‘A municipalities’ (Metropoles) proved to be
difficult contexts for reception of the programme and there
appears to be a wealth of activity happening within these contexts
already. ‘C municipalities’ (Districts) were only marginally involved
in the programme and their activities are generally more oriented to
strategic planning which may be better engaged with through the
training programme for government planners run by the Department
of Social Development.
!The programme also should establish an association with the
formation and support of local AIDS action committees within
municipalities. This can be done by promoting the formation of such
committees during the training and where these already exist, by
specifically selecting trainees who sit on such committees.
!Careful thought needs to be given to the question of whether the
programme should be targeted at councillors specifically, in the light
of the finding that councillors were significantly more positive in
their responses to the programme. If officials are to be included it
would be important that membership of an HIV/AIDS action commit￾tee be a selection criterion to ensure that the impact of the training
is enhanced through co-operative working together of councillors
and officials, which is a problem area.
MT follow-up and rollout training
content
!Training should focus more on understanding local HIV/AIDS
response resources and the challenges of responding to
HIV/AIDS, with more time given to the development of action
plans.
! There is a need to develop a more detailed tool or procedure
for taking stock of, or mapping, the range of organisations and
resources involved in HIV/AIDS responses at municipal level,
to overcome the problem of the lack of understanding and co￾ordination of activities and programmes. Training for such an
activity would need to be incorporated into both the follow-up
training for Master Trainers and future rollout training
workshops.
Post training implementation
! Apart from prioritising the formation of municipal HIV/AIDS
action committees where these do not exist, the training
should also promote the formation of community HIV/AIDS
forums to deal with the problem of poor co-ordination of local
level HIV/AIDS responses, and to develop a more integrated
approach than presently exists.
! There is a need to assist trainees to find ways of supporting
start-up programmes which they currently find difficult to
resource.
Networking and support for trainees
! There is need to provide a support framework for trainees
through the establishment of a network for local government
representatives working to promote responses to HIV/AIDS.
This could involve a newsletter and website, and would need
to include updates on HIV/AIDS information, sharing of ideas
and activities, examples and case studies of local government
responses and recognition of achievements.
<12> Local Government Leading the Partnership Against AIDS
Specific steps consistent with the above suggestions
1. Convene a high level meeting to discuss the formation of
national and provincial support frameworks for the con￾tinuation and further development of the programme.
2. Convene a follow-up meeting with MTs to discuss the evalu￾ation and establish a plan for development of a support
framework that operates at a provincial level. This should
draw in other stakeholders and specifically provincial De￾partments of Health and provincial Departments of Local
Government. The gathering of MTs should also be used as
an opportunity to further train them as suggested above.
3. Develop a situation analysis tool or procedure, as suggested
above, to incorporate into the training.
4. Review the basic training and possibly consolidate the ba￾sic training exercises into a training guide for MTs. De￾velop a format for a two-day follow-up training to be con￾ducted 6 months after the basic training, based on updat￾ing information and sharing of ideas relating to difficulties
experienced, lessons learned and success stories. Alter￾natively offer the basic training in the form of two 2-day
workshops.
5. Conduct a rollout-training workshop in each province tar￾geted at municipalities not included in the first training
and possibly follow this up with a two-day workshop in each
province after six months.
6. Contact trainees to let them know of further developments
and draw them into the communication network.
7. Monitor and evaluate the functioning of the network after
a year.
EXTRACT FROM THE EVALUATION REPORT p42
Evaluation of the MT Programme <13>
The Local Government Programme Steering Committee, having consid￾ered the findings and recommendations of the evaluation agreed on the
following actions:
!To present the study to a broad stakeholder forum in November 2002;
!To convene a follow-up workshop with MTs to address identified
capacity building needs (skills and knowledge);
!To plan and then conduct further training workshops to ensure compre￾hensive coverage of all municipalities and District Councils – Phase II
training;
!To utilise the opportunity presented by the MT follow-up workshop to
develop a networking system for MTs;
!To develop a programme/framework of mentoring and support for MTs
for Phase II training; and
!To develop a mentoring and support system for the trainees for the
future.
!Further actions, such as operationalising the mentoring and support
programme and, in due course, evaluating the functioning of the
networking system will be defined by the Local Government Programme
Steering Committee following the MTs follow-up workshop.
There is now growing evidence that local government is assuming its
rightful place leading the Partnership against AIDS. Congratulations
to the Master Trainers, councillors and officials who have shown the
way - your commitment and extensive community mobilisation will
serve as an inspiration to many working in the local government
arena.
PART IV:
Conclusion
In the future, Developmental Local Government must play a
central role in representing our communities, protecting our
human rights and meeting our basic needs. It must focus its
efforts and resources on improving the quality of life of our
communities, especially those members and groups within
communities that are most often marginalised or excluded, such
as women, disabled people and very poor people.
EXTRACT FROM THE WHITE PAPER ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
<14> Local Government Leading the Partnership Against AIDS