Global Policy Forum

UNDP, in cooperation with Botswana's National AIDS Coordinating Agency (NACA), has held a series of leadership development workshops to strengthen the response to HIV/AIDS in one of the world's hardest hit countries.

About 130 leaders from many sectors attended the three-day sessions. They came from government departments, including the police, health and social service agencies, the private sector and civil society organizations.

Using a participatory approach, they mapped out ways to strengthen action against the scourge, and between sessions, they met in small groups to devise initiatives for their workplaces and communities.

Minister of Local Government Michael Tshipinare, opening the first workshop in Francistown in the north, told participants that the country needs inspirational leadership to fight the epidemic. "There is an urgent need for us to develop a critical mass of leaders willing and able to take responsibility and to provide direction to society at every level" he said.

The workshops are designed to tap into participants' experience and expertise to create new ways to influence public opinion and behaviour. They challenge them to foster a dialogue on HIV/AIDS and the underlying causes that fuel the epidemic among their constituencies.

Dr. Banu Khan, head of NACA, observed that Botswana has achieved success in developing its education, health, transport and socio-economic infrastructure, and the epidemic now threatens these gains. With a population of 1.7 million, nearly 40 per cent of people ages 15 to 49 are living with the disease.

UNDP Resident Representative Bjí¸rn Fí¸rde said that workshops aim to develop participants' capacity to lead their organizations and communities to work at new levels of effectiveness to reverse the tide of HIV/AIDS. While Botswana has great resources, he said, it needs to "press the right button" to mitigate the impact of the scourge."

I now know what it takes to change the mindset of another person," said Kenewamang Moseki-Orufheng, a participant from the Women's Affairs Department. "I have renewed my approach to the fight against the disease," she said.

The workshops helped participants recognize the central role they can play in bringing about change at all levels of society. They committed themselves to the core values and principles of what workshop facilitators described as "transformative leadership," based on recognizing and altering their own pre-conceptions and prejudices, to change attitudes and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The UNDP Bureau for Development Policy HIV/AIDS Group is conducting leadership workshops in a number of countries to help mobilize wider action against the epidemic.

For further information please contact, UNDP Botswana, or UNDP Communications Office.