The National Response to HIV/AIDS is managed to ensure implementation. Management creates the necessary environment for effective implementation to take place. This chapter outlines the responsibilities of the National AIDS Co-ordinating Agency in managing the operationalisation of the National Response. The roles of NACA emerge from the system of strategic management where the inter-related domains of strategic and normative elements of the National Response are managed in conjunction with the various inputs necessary for operationalisation. Each of the domains of the system suggests a wide array of specific responsibilities, many of which will evolve over time.
An indication of some of the most critical responsibilities is outlined below.

Strategic Management of the National Response: the Role of NACA

Inputs
The National Strategic Framework enables NACA to map the resources currently available for implementation of the National Response and where these resources are deployed. Botswana's efforts to fight HIV/AIDS have been viewed favourably internationally and numerous human, financial, technical, and material resources are on offer to assist the National Response. NACA must strategically array these various inputs to facilitate implementation in the most effective way possible. This is often made more complex due to the many possible challenges, such as complicated or lengthy application and disbursement procedures, inflexibility in terms of input use, policies constraining the sourcing or use of inputs, various and time-consuming accountability procedures, etc. NACA's mandate in the domain of inputs must be to make available a host of necessary inputs, facilitate access and deployment, and ensure accountability in use.

Strategic Elements
Planning. NACA has the responsibility to facilitate planning for HIV/AIDS at all levels. This includes obtaining the necessary technical assistance for formulation and facilitation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan development process. From this process the goals, intervention areas, objectives, and strategies that will guide the national response will emerge. It is important that such technical assistance be seen in terms of its advantages for continuity and consistency over the period of development and moving from planning to implementation.

The process of mainstreaming HIV/AIDS into Ministries requires facilitation. NACA has the responsibility to ensure that all Ministries mainstream HIV/AIDS into their core business. Technical assistance and facilitation will be offered through NACA to introduce HIV/AIDS into Ministries' Annual Strategic Plans in line with the Performance Management System, and to facilitate the development of annual HIV/AIDS Action Plans. Action Plans will be aligned with Government's annual planning and budgeting cycle. This is critical if activities are to be made routine and funded from government budgetary allocations. The detailed costs that emerge from these Ministry HIV/AIDS Action Plans will become part of the Ministry budget for the year and contribute to the overall costing adjustments of the National Strategic Framework.

The district level is the critical point where both co-ordination and collaboration by all sectors must be highly effective and it is NACA's responsibility to ensure that the decentralised focus of the National Response is maintained. The integration of HIV/AIDS into District Development Plans, under the Ministry of Local Government, has been a major step forward. However, other sectoral departments, NGOs, and the Private Sector must be brought on board through a multi sectoral annual HIV/AIDS Action Planning process. This Action Planning will ensure that all HIV/AIDS planned activities are known and harmonised by the District Multi-sectoral AIDS Committees (DMSACs) and the District Development Committees (DDCs).

The MLG is also the institutional home of DMSACs and NACA must work in collaboration with MLG to ensure that annual multi-sectoral Action Planning is undertaken and facilitate the provision of technical assistance for the planning and management of local responses. Through this collaboration, a public-private mix of resource persons and facilitators will be developed to support action and implementation at both district and community levels.

Capacity Building. NACA is responsible for establishing and developing a programme of consistent capacity building for managing and implementing the National Response. Individual programmes can be developed for each level of the response and utilise local, regional, and international expertise and facilitation. Capacity building is a strategic element and NACA must ensure that the curriculum for programmes at each level meet the prioritised needs of the response as they evolve over time.

Resource Mobilisation. By maintaining HIV/AIDS on the national agenda, NACA advocates for specific inputs for the National Response from both Government and international or
Development Partner sources. Resources, in all their various forms, are mobilized for specific needs as they change over time. NACA must be able to anticipate the need for resources, where they might be obtained and to secure them as quickly as possible. Cultivating multiple channels for various resources is an important responsibility of NACA that ensures the long-term implementation and sustainability of the National Response.

Normative Elements
Institutional Co-ordination. NACA is responsible for harmonising the planning and implementation of all Ministries, sectors, districts, civil society organisations, and the Private Sector to ensure appropriate alignment with the vision and goals of the National Response. NACA will harmonise and co-ordinate this role through interaction with multiple coalitions, networks, and forums made up of various implementing partners. Continuous communication with the coordination forums will be a mechanism through which implementation of the National Response can be collectively overseen, organised, and concerted to achieve maximum effect.

Policy Environment. One of NACA's key roles is to manage and co-ordinate the policy environment of the country as it relates to HIV/AIDS. Thus, it must survey the policy landscape, identify gaps or areas that need strengthening, and advocate for review and revision of policies when required. NACA's responsibilities also include coordination of the development and implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Policy as the backbone of the National Response. Similarly, NACA has a responsibility to provide technical assistance and inputs into the NATIONAL AIDS CO-ORDINATING AGENCY development of Ministry or sector-level policies.

Information Management. NACA has the overall responsibility for collecting and analyzing the National Response to HIV/AIDS monitoring data. Ministry and district level information on implementation progress must be readily available through the BHRIMS and NACA must feed back the analysed information to the districts and Ministries to assist them in fine-tuning their responses. NACA also has the responsibility to ensure that information is made available to all interested parties including providing access to the necessary operational information such as sources of funding and technical expertise, information on best practices, and data on supplies and procedures for implementation.
An important role for NACA is to provide information regarding the National Response to the public. Presenting regular updates on implementation, challenges, constraints, and successes builds public ownership of the response and promotes the accountability of those in management positions within the National Response. Information provided through regular updates could be in a variety of formats to ensure proper dissemination and availability.

Financial Management. NACA has a role in the financial management of the National response that includes four elements of allocation, disbursement and tracking. In terms of allocation, NACA must ensure that all allocations reflect the priorities agreed in the National Strategic Framework. Experience suggests that it is not always lack of funding that constrains implementation, but rather uncertainty and delayed flows of funds. As the institution with warrant authority for HIV/AIDS funds, NACA is responsible for adopting mechanisms that ensure the efficient and timely transfer and disbursements of resources to implementing partners and agencies throughout the country this includes NGOs and communities. The tracking of funds or economic governance of HIV and AIDS resources is assuming important dimensions as global sources of funding multiply. NACA, with its partners, must ensure accountable systems are in place through which funds may be channeled and tracked.

1. Co-ordinate implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan 2003-2009 through provision of support to district initiatives in collaboration with relevant partners.
2. Assist civil society and the Private Sector in the development and implementation of strategic and operational plans.
3. Align national, sectoral, and district level strategic operational planning with the national monitoring and evaluation efforts of the Botswana HIV/AIDS Response Information Management System (BHRIMS).
4. Develop an organisational structure within NACA that reflects the reality of its responsibilities and core business, e.g. district and sector support units.
5. Ensure clarity of institutional arrangements across all organisations involved in the response to the epidemic.
6. Ensure efficient and effective funding modalities to promote rapid allocation and disbursement of funds for HIV/AIDS initiatives across all districts, sectors, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders.
7. Plan and implement a resource mobilization exercise to attract additional funds for the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
8. Assist with strengthening institutional arrangements at the district level, e.g. DMSACs as part of the DDCs.