DFID commentary on the evaluation of the community response to HIV and AIDS

The UK Department for International Development (DFID) has funded communities involved in the HIV response for many years. The critical importance of this response, the ownership by and empowerment of communities that has emerged, is to be celebrated. But there is still much we do not know about the complex inter-relationship between community engagement and impact on HIV outcomes. We need a much clearer understanding of how best to support and sustain effective and efficient responses. The DFID funded World Bank evaluation of the community response to HIV and AIDS reflects a broader commitment to more and better evaluation, as a key instrument for learning what works most effectively for poor people. The real proof of sustained value of this evaluation is in the longer-term translation of evidence into policy and practice, and through shaping future evaluation and research priorities. In particular more evidence needs to be generated on the complex pathways to achieving health impacts, and more systematic effort is required to quantify the benefits and costs of interventions.