Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA)

Civil society plays an important role in the social and political development of Zimbabwe; over 700 civil society organisations (CSOs) currently exist in that country.

However, monitoring and research in Zimbabwe is important to make clear who benefits from state and corporate services, and to what extent these benefits are sustainable. The current situation in Zimbabwe provides an opportunity for CSOs to strengthen their representation of communities in shaping health policies.

The actual level of HIV/AIDS spending in Zimbabwe is currently unknown, making it difficult to ascertain whether there is a gap in resources relative to need, or whether specific activities are being under or over funded.

Given this, how do communities benefit from the different sources of funding? One objective of the HIV programme is to enhance civil society participation in monitoring state expenditure to ensure people living with, and affected by, HIV/AIDS access appropriate health care services.

Education Coalition of Zimbabwe is a network of civic society organisations working within education sector in Zimbabwe working on advocacy for attainment of EFA goals. The coalition came up with a 2011-2015 Strategic Plan in 2010 as a way of to respond to educational needs in Zimbabwean context. Some of the strategic thrusts include monitoring educational policy formulation and implementation and education financing.

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