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Seminar on the impact of HIV/AIDS on land reform in KwaZulu-Natal
Hosted by the Southern African Regional Poverty Network and the Centre for HIV/AIDS Networking University of Natal, Durban
Scott Drimie
and
Deborah Heustice
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[Briefing note]
[Seminar proceedings]
[Delegates]
[Annexures]
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Seminar proceedings
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1.4. Background of Seminar and elaboration of purpose
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- Dr Scott Drimie, Co-Ordinator, SARPN, HSRC
Dr Drimie outlined the background and objectives of the seminar.
These are summarized below and provide a useful context and framework
for future collaboration on the impact of HIV/AIDS on land in the
province.
The Southern African Regional Poverty Network (SARPN) hosted a two-day
conference on land reform
and poverty alleviation in June 2001. In keeping
with the goals of SARPN, the conference was designed to facilitate the
sharing of perspectives on land issues in several Southern African
countries and to generate debate about how pro-poor policy processes
may be incorporated into land reform policy options in the region.
During the conference the issues surrounding the impact of HIV/AIDS
on land reform received significant interest partly as a response to
the perceived dearth of information and policy research on the issue.
It was commonly agreed that the impact and trends of this pandemic
should be a central feature of conducting land reform. The failure to do
so was deemed to be professionally negligent, a misuse of resources for
poverty reduction and unlikely to achieve stated policy objectives.
It was therefore proposed that SARPN should host a workshop on the impact
of HIV/AIDS on land reform and rural development in collaboration with a
number of specialists from around the region.
SARPN has established a partnership with the HIV/AIDS Network (HIVAN) based at the University of Natal, Durban, which has a considerable network and expertise in the HIV/AIDS field in KwaZulu-Natal, the heartland of the epidemic in the region. As a preliminary step, SARPN and HIVAN arranged this seminar to explore the issue with a number of representatives from the land reform, agricultural and health sectors and to set an agenda for a larger workshop to be held in 2002 at a rural location in the province.
The steering committee driving this process has consisted of SARPN and
HIVAN, which worked in close consultation with the National Department
of Land Affairs HIV/AIDS Desk and the Director of the KwaZulu-Natal
Provincial Department of Land Affairs. The SARPN/HIVAN partnership
acted as a "secretariat" that has facilitated the process. Both SARPN
and HIVAN are essentially about facilitating networking, not about
owning processes or research. Their main objectives in guiding this
process have been:
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To link role-players around the region for whom poverty reduction
(related in this instance to HIV/AIDS and land reform) is -
or should be - a major objective
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To act as a catalyst for policy, strategy and implementation that
is more effective in reducing poverty by disseminating key information
and opinion on poverty issues and by actively stimulating open debate.
The specific objectives of the 23 November 2001 seminar were:
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To initiate discussion around HIV/AIDS and land reform by creating a forum in which a small group of civil society, government and academic representatives with knowledge on land reform, agriculture, HIV/AIDS, local government and development in KwaZulu-Natal, could meet regional experts. It was hoped that this forum would identify the broad issues for further consideration, as well as the key players and initiatives in this area.
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To facilitate the development of a network, which would support further discussion, collaboration and dissemination of information on the impact of HIV/AIDS on land reform in KZN.
Depending on the consensus of the participants, other suggested objectives
were:
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To devise an agenda for a workshop to be hosted in early 2002 in a
rural municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. It is hoped that this workshop
would begin a process of both conceptualising and discussing mechanisms
to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on land reform processes.
The workshop would be conducted with practitioners and officials on the
ground, who are faced with the challenges of the pandemic on an daily
basis. It should be emphasised that the process is not intended to
create additional tasks for land and health officials and
practitioners but to effectively enable them to think through these
issues and incorporate such thinking into their work
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To identify research issues for further consideration and
collaboration.
Dr Drimie noted that this seminar was not happening in isolation and would be coupled to a number of other processes which were unfolding in the region to give it added impetus. SARPN has established a partnership with the Zambian Land Alliance and the Oxfam-GB offices in Lusaka to develop a similar workshop focusing on land rights, agricultural development and HIV/AIDS. Similarly, another process is unfolding in Malawi with Oxfam-GB and CARE International. A proposal from FONSAG in Botswana is also been developed by SARPN in order to explore a related event in Gaborone.
In addition to these one-day workshops across the region, there are two research initiatives, which this seminar will be linked to in terms of sharing research findings, feeding into future debate and influencing policy. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has contracted the Integrated Development Programme at the HSRC to co-ordinate a three-country study of HIV/AIDS and land tenure. The HSRC will draft a synthesis document from the studies of Kenya, Lesotho and South Africa and facilitate a workshop to discuss the major findings in March 2002. This research has been linked in terms of objectives and methodology to a study undertaken by Oxfam-GB in Malawi and Zambia.
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