Craig Calhoun Alton Phillips New York University
The co-PI will study the culture of response from local affected communities and networks of national, international and transnational actors to the global HIV and AIDS pandemic. The project compares two HIV treatment programs that are distributing anti-retrovirals in Uganda--one with funding from the Global Fund and one with funding from the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The purpose of the comparison is to better understand what institutional capacities are being developed, how funding regulations are negotiated, and the impact regulations have on program operations. Interviews and fieldwork will be conducted at two sites in Mbarara, Uganda where HIV treatment programs have only recently emerged. The central research questions are: What institutional capacities are being developed through these programs? How are the different mandates, regulations and guidelines from the funding agencies regarding program operations enacted, negotiated and resisted? Is there significant variation between Global Fund and PEPFAR funded programs in terms of capacity development and operating procedures?
This research uses two cases to examine how the culture of response to the global HIV and AIDS pandemic reflects and reproduces current patterns in governance and political economy. Specifically, it studies the re-scaling of governance away from the state level and the increasing role of privatization and marketization in the provisioning of social services. Research findings will contribute to formulating more effective AIDS intervention policies in Africa.
