New ECR Addition: Engaging the Business Sector 
This module provides a broad overview of the business sector, its potential role(s) in an expanded and comprehensive response (ECR) to HIV/AIDS and some general approaches to engaging private institutions in an ECR. It identifies key factors that have motivated businesses to respond to HIV/AIDS and helps managers understand which business sector capabilities (e.g., material assets, skills and networks) can be leveraged to benefit an HIV/AIDS response.

Introduction

Strategic Planning (Module 1)
Participatory strategic planning at all administrative levels and sectors (both public and private) must take place for a multi-sectoral program to succeed. Developing an expanded response and sectoral strategic plans requires a needs assessment, an analysis of the situation and of the current response, and program planning. This planning should complement countries' national strategic plans and help make them more operational, not supplant them.

Technical Strategies (Module 2)
Module 2 focuses on which interventions work and provides guidance on how to expand them effectively and efficiently. This includes addressing ways to increase access and coverage of programs, addressing synergistic intervention elements, and prioritizing interventions based on the stage of the epidemic, level of resources, infrastructure and current programs. Monitoring and evaluating these technical areas is critical and is discussed in Module 8.

Operationalizing ECR: Administration and Resource Management (Module 3)
Module 3 discusses mechanisms and structures to plan and deliver interventions and ensure a smooth flow of funds to programs. This requires looking at program management systems at all levels and developing sound information systems. Also examined are measures to ensure financial accountability and to develop standard donor reporting systems. *

NGO Involvement (Module 4)
NGOs and CBOs have played the leading role in designing and delivering HIV/AIDS programs. In ECR, NGOs must grapple with challenging questions about replicating programs; scaling-up existing programs; integrating new interventions into successful programs; and maintaining quality. Module 4 provides an overview of key issues for NGOs and how these issues relate to stakeholder consideration of ECR design and implementation methods.

Human Capacity Development (Module 5)
Module 5 examines needs assessments for developing human capacity for ECR (who needs to be trained and how), training and capacity-building programs. It also addresses innovation in building capacity, such as South-to-South collaboration and distance learning.

Costing and Use of Resources (Module 6)
Module 6 describes methods for projecting the costs of ECR, which include direct expenses and broader economic costs. The module, which will help users develop criteria for resource allocation, outlines the costs of expanding the coverage and type of HIV/AIDS interventions and programs. It also explores other resource allocation issues, including determining resource allocation priorities to ensure maximum outputs.

Managing the Supply of Drugs and Commodities (Module 7)
Many critical questions must to be answered when developing a system to manage the supply of drugs and commodities. Module 7 explores management support systems, selection, procurement, distribution and use. Policy and legal issues are also discussed. Creating a reliable system to manage the supply of affordable antiretroviral drugs will be critical. Issues of public sector versus private sector management will be keenly debated in most country settings; this module provides helpful guidelines for this debate.

Measuring for Impact (Module 8)
Module 8 addresses the critical challenge of measuring for impact and monitoring for quality. Special challenges to evaluation and monitoring are discussed, including limited resources and donor-driven evaluation activities. The importance of collecting sound national data to ensure that ECR makes an impact also is discussed, along with monitoring organizational capacity and performance.

Further Readings, Acronyms, Acknowledgments

(*) Print report correction: Case Study 1 in Module 3 of the ECR report is adapted from the following source: Karen Romano et al. 1999. Multi-sectoral HIV/AIDS Response in Zambia: The District Taskforce Model: An Account and Critical Analysis of District Task Force Response in Zambia. Report to USAID. Project Concern International.