The development of national policy and programme frameworks are key instruments for achieving a single approach to HIV/AIDS across the higher education sector and attaining greater equity among institutions.

Once a reliable picture of the burden of HIV/AIDS in the higher education sector is available (see Research), it will be possible to develop evidence-based policies and planning frameworks. These will set out the elements of a comprehensive response to HIV/AIDS in the context of higher education, and will determine the scope of these interventions.

HEAIDS has set in motion work to:

• Determine the HIV/AIDS risk profile for the higher education sector and for individual institutions.
• Develop an HIV/AIDS policy framework and a related framework for monitoring and evaluation of programmes.
• Establish the cost of implementing the package of interventions outlined in the policy framework to the scale required.
• Explore potential funding sources to meet the envisaged costs and ensure longer-term sustainability of HIV/AIDS programmes across the higher education sector.

Sustainability

Creating a sustainable and viable programme to tackle HIV/AIDS on every front at campus level poses a challenge. In many cases, resource constraints have limited the scope of institutional responses to HIV/AIDS and will continue to do so unless they are acknowledged and addressed.

HEAIDS has created a special working group, which includes representatives of National Treasury and the Department of Education, to find ways to provide adequate, sustainable funding for higher education HIV/AIDS programmes.

Leadership and ownership

Leadership and political will are equally critical to the sustainability of HIV/AIDS programmes at institutions. HEAIDS strives to work through the governance structures created to ensure that the programme remains responsive and accountable to the Department of Education, the higher education institutions and the students that they serve.