The idea that NGOs and governmental organizations were businesses was a difficult one to wrap my head around as a young volunteer from Canada. I had the idealistic view that development organizations were devoted only to helping people. Truthfully, many are, but I neglected to realize that money is the major component that keeps these organizations going.
A business needs to attract clients, needs income to support its programs, staff, vehicles and offices. Therefore it has to prove its work at some point. On top of that, there are only a few pieces of pie, major funders, who supply the thousands of NGOs. These NGOs have to spend a lot of time writing proposals and wooing big donor organizations and countries. Well-intentioned HIV education and treatment programs need to show the goods; if they do a really great job those pictures of “Fight AIDS” mass marches may increase funding for future well-intentioned programs.
Traveling through Lusaka, Zambia, between 2003 and 2008, one sees 4 or 5 individuals wearing HIV awareness t-shirts with slogans akin to "Fight AIDS, keep the promise." On the Great East Road in Lusaka, more than a dozen different groups of people march up or down the road. Lusaka is the capital of Zambia and the stronghold of the AIDS-related organizations.
The “Fight AIDS” marches feature organizations that are Catholic-based, Danish-funded, USAID-coordinated, national government-supported, or UN-managed, as well as local civil-based groups. The groups take part in the week-long World AIDS Day festivities. Throughout the week, different groups of people, supported by the various organizations, wear signs that proclaim messages such as, “My friend with HIV is still my friend”. The participants get t-shirts and food and hear speeches. Meanwhile, their experiences are recorded, later to be transferred to parent organizations and media outlets as pictures and videos.
The messages are strong. I would never suggest ending World AIDS Day because I believe that no one should ever forget what is going on. But look at what is happening behind the scenes: a major part of these organizations’ budgets go towards the Day. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent. These activities end up making up a major part of the organizations’ yearly budget. On top of that, as much as people want to show their support for those affected with HIV, many people will not volunteer their time without some benefits. Therefore they are given t-shirts, full meals, prizes and transport as enticements.
What are the organizations’ motivations when they do this? They need to prove that large numbers of people work with their programs and that they are active in the field, as these are the claims they make on their original proposals to funders. In addition, funders tend to give large amounts of money for World AIDS Day. As this money is allocated solely for the day itself, any money left over cannot be used for other expenses. This results in organizations believing that they should spend every last bit of money that they receive on the Big Show.
Unfortunately, this creates a sense of dependency and it raises the expectations of community members to unrealistic highs. If you are given a bunch of free stuff for marching down the road, you will expect that throughout the year, and of course you will expect it to happen again the following World AIDS Day. As community members’ expectations rise, more money is thrown into the Big Show. When the day comes, the organization with the biggest show will attract more funders and government attention.
Clearly, World AIDS Day is the day to market your organization, not only to other organizations, but also to the world media. The actual effectiveness of your organization’s HIV/ AIDS treatment or education programs is not important on this day. “Too much” cooperation with other organizations is even assumed to dilute your program’s apparent effectiveness.
Other than encouraging further cooperation, I do not have a great solution to this problem. The challenge is not with the players, but with the game itself. We, the donors and the well-off people who want to help fight HIV in Southern Africa, also want control. We want to see results; we want to know that our money is going to whatever was agreed upon. However we are only satisfied with obvious results. It is easier to see success in large crowds and singing children with signs than it is to understand how the long-term AIDS education and treatment programs work.
The shows will continue to run separately, and money will keep flowing to the best presentations. There will be little focus on cooperation between organizations and on the effectiveness of these HIV/ AIDS programs.
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