Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-1-2005
Abstract
HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa has reached pandemic proportions, with an adult prevalence rate of 8.4%. Of the 30 million African people infected with AIDS at the end of 2002, 58% were women. The economic impact is devastating as is the effect on society and families as measured by reduced life expectancy, family income, and agricultural and industrial efficiency. While funding and the number of aid organizations (including non-government organizations [NGOs]) operating in Africa have increased exponentially, their effectiveness is being debated. Worldwide, a trend is discernible for organizations from a range of disciplines and sectors to work together in tackling such intractable diseases as HIV/AIDS. Getting organizations to collaborate is described as being challenging - yet, when it occurs, the results can be phenomenal. This conceptual work, based on extant literature, establishes a framework to examine NGOs in collaborative arrangements in South Africa providing services to communities dealing with the challenge of HIV/AIDS, particularly services that are targeted to women and children. South Africa was selected as the appropriate location for this study as it has higher absolute numbers of people living with HIV/AIDS than any country in the world. Specifically, the paper is designed to facilitate the gathering of data to respond to such questions as whether collaborative efforts in this sector are more successful than autonomous efforts, and how the participants assess success; whether factors such as aligning expectations, having sufficient resources, involvement of members and the community, and establishing mechanisms for enforcing accountability, contribute to the success of the collaboration; how interorganizational trust affects collaboration success; and finally whether power differentials among the partners affect collaborative success. In conclusion, the paper posits the nature of the relationship among these different concepts.
Keywords
HIV infections--social aspects, NGO, collaboration, collaborative performance, interorganizational trust, power differential, collaboration enablers, community capacity, collaboration effectiveness
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Cooke-Lauder, Jane, "Social Change - Making the Improbable Possible Through Collaboration. The Effectiveness of NGO Collaboration Arrangements in South Africa Tackling HIV/Aids" (2005). Student Scholarship. 385.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/385