Joint Learning Initiative On Children and HIV/AIDS

Learning Groups > Social and Economic Policies

Evaluating Policy to Improve Outcomes

Families and communities continue to bear the overwhelming burden of care and cost associated with HIV—a burden which can seriously impact the life chances of children and youth. Yet, external efforts to address young people's needs are often hindered by uncertainty about what policies and interventions work best for children, as well as poor coordination among institutions and groups working on their behalf.

Research Objectives of the Social and Economic Policies Learning Group

The Social and Economic Policies Learning Group documents the policy changes and new resources that governments and international institutions will need to effectively protect children affected by HIV/AIDS. This Learning Group also investigates HIV prevention among adolescents and older children, with a focus on gender issues, sexuality and the predictors of HIV exposure. Finally, this Group will identify costs for the policy and programming recommendations of the other Learning Groups.

Some of the key research questions of this Learning Group include:

What political factors influence the adoption of good policies for children?
What are the resource implications of achieving social protection policies and programs for children, and how can those policies be designed to maximize the opportunity for success?
What role do gender and sexuality play in developing effective HIV prevention programs and policies for young people?

Learning Group Leadership

The Social and Economic Policies Learning Group is led by two Co-Chairs:

Masuma Mamdani, based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, is a senior researcher at Research on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA), a non-profit-making research organization in Tanzania. Mamdani is also a member of the Tanzania Public Health Association and the HIV and AIDS Working Group of the Non-Governmental Policy Forum.
Alex de Waal, based in Boston, United States, is a program director at the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), a fellow of the Global Equity Initiative at Harvard, and a director of Justice Africa, London.

Research Findings

The Learning Group has commissioned 17 papers examining the social and economic policy response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. These papers will inform policy recommendations that will be released in late 2008.

Read this Learning Group's debate: "Can a developing country support the welfare needs of children affected by AIDS?"

Find out more about JLICA's other Learning Groups.

View Co-Chairs

Alex de Waal

Alex de Waal is a writer and activist on African issues. He is a program director at the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), engaged in projects on HIV/AIDS and Social Transformation and on Emergencies and Humanitarian Action. In addition, de Waal is a fellow of the Global Equity Initiative at Harvard and a director of Justice Africa, London. In his twenty-year career, he has studied the social, political and health dimensions of famine, war, genocide and the HIV/AIDS epidemic, especially in the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes. He has been at the forefront of mobilizing African and international responses to these problems. His books include: Famine that Kills: Darfur, Sudan, 1984-5 (Oxford University Press, 1989), Islamism and Its Enemies in the Horn of Africa (Indiana University Press, 2004), Darfur: A Short History of a Long War (with Julie Flint; Zed Books, 2005), and AIDS and Power: Why there is no political crisis—yet (Zed Books, 2006). Most recently, de Waal has edited the book War in Darfur and the Search for Peace [Harvard University Press, 2007], which brings together essays by noted Sudanese scholars and international experts on the Darfur region of Sudan.

Masuma Mamdani

Masuma Mamdani. Masuma Mamdani specializes in social policy research, particularly in the areas of reproductive and sexual health, including HIV/AIDS. She also has extensive experience in issues of healthcare provisioning, focusing on access, equity, quality, and financing, with particular attention to practical policy analysis and processes in support of change. Masuma is a Senior Researcher at Research on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA), a non-profit research organization in Tanzania. She has participated in the preparation of Tanzania's Second Poverty Reduction Strategy (2005-2010) and represents REPOA in the National Public Expenditure Review Working Groups on HIV/AIDS and on Social Well-Being. Masuma is also a member of the Tanzania Public Health Association and the HIV and AIDS Working Group of the Non-Governmental Policy Forum.

Previous postings include: Senior Programme Development Officer at the African Medical and Research Foundation, Tanzania; and Research Fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, for over 10 years. She has worked in several countries and her professional connection with Tanzania dates back to 1979. Her works include: "Social Protection of Vulnerable Children in Tanzania: Evidence, Limits and Challenges," "Poor People's Experiences of Health Services in Tanzania," "Community- Based Programmes Addressing Women's Reproductive Health Needs in India," "Adolescent Reproductive Health—Experience of Community-Based Programmes," "Fertility and Contraceptive Use in Poor Urban Areas of Developing Countries," "Investigating Induced Abortions in Developing Countries: Methods and Problems," "Vitamin A Supplementation and Child Survival: Magic Bullet or False Hope?" and "Early Initiatives in Essential Drugs."