The objective of the conference is to bring together researchers policy makers and service providers to discuss issues relating to the formulation and implementation of health policy and the implications for the health services. Issue one: Health care financing- this will look at the issue of free health care for under fives, how was the policy formulated, what has been the impact etc and what lessons can we learn from the process. Issue two: Programme management- this will look at HIV/AIDS and STD policies, how they have been formulated and devolved to the local level and what factors have faciltated or hindered the process and how they have/have not been implemented. Issue three: Integration and the devolution- this will look at the devolution of services and the implications of the policy to move health services from the provincial to the district level.

In every Western European country the occurrence of Aids has led to exceptional innovations in prevention, patient care, health policy and questions of civil rights. This exception can be explained not only by the fact that a health catastrophe was feared, but also civilizational harm in the field of civil rights. Despite national differences, this brought about similar „exceptionalist alliances “ consisting of health professionals, social movements and those affected. With the failure of a catastrophe to arise signs of fatigue in the „exceptionalist alliance “ and increasing possibilities of medical treatment, exceptionalism in Europe is drawing to a close. The paper elucidates specific aspects of each of the four roughly distinguishable phases in this process: Approx. 1981- 1986: emergence of exceptionalism. The underlying reasons for exceptionalism are investigated in this paper. Approx. 1986- 1991: consolidation and performance of exceptionalism. The paper investigates the exceptionalist policy model, more specifically some nationally different factors in the polity and politics that help to explain the different forms of