Amplification de la Santé de la Reproduction et de Planification
Familiale” (AmplifyPF)
Year 1 – Quarter 1 Report June 26, 2018 – September 30, 2018
Submitted to United States Agency for International Development USAID/West Africa Regional Health Office By Pathfinder International Under Cooperative Agreement No. 72062418CA00003
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Table of contents
Table of contents ....................................................................................... i
Acronyms and Abbreviations ...................................................................ii
Section 1: Introduction ............................................................................. 1
Section 2: Description of Activities ......................................................... 2
Section 3: Challenges Encountered During the Period ............................ 9
Section 4: Activities Planned for the Following Quarter ....................... 10
Section 5: Financial brief ....................................................................... 11
Section 6: Other...................................................................................... 12
Section 7: Annexes ................................................................................. 13
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Acronyms and Abbreviations Amplify PF: Amplify Family Planning and Sexual and Reproductive Health project AFD: Agence Française pour le Développement (French Development Agency) AOR: Agreement Officer Representative BMGF: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation CRESAC: Centre Régional d'Evaluation en Education, Environment, Santé et accreditation
en Afrique (Regional Center for Evaluation in Education, Environment, and Health and for Accreditation in Africa)
CSOs Civil Society Organizations DG/SR: Directeur Général de la Santé de la Reproduction DSF: Direction de la Santé Familiale EAWA: Ending AIDS in West Africa FP/RH: Family Planning and Reproductive Health GHSCP: Global Health Supply Chain Program HIPs: High Impact Practices HP+: Health Policy Plus ICFP: International Conference on Family Planning IT: Information and Technology QA: Quality Assurance MEL: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning MOH: Ministry of Health PSM: Procurement and Supply Management RCPFAS: Réseau de Champions en Plaidoyer pour le Financement Adéquat de la Santé
(Networks of Advocacy Champions for Adequate Health Financing) RHO: Regional Health Office SG: Sécrétaire Général (General Secretary) SOW: Scope of Work SWEDD: Sahel Women's Empowerment and Demographic Dividend TCI: The Challenge Initiative TFPs: Technical and Financial Partners TOR: Terms of Reference UNFPA: United Nations Population Fund USAID: United States Agency for International Development USAID/WA: USAID West Africa Regional Bureau WABA: West Africa Breakthrough Action WHO: World Health Organization WP: Work Plan
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Section 1: Introduction This is the first quarterly report of Amplify Family Planning and Sexual Reproductive Health (Amplify PF), a USAID funded project. The reporting period is June 26, 2018 to September 30, 2018.
The goal of Amplify PF is to mobilize partners to expand access to and utilization of quality family planning services in the West Africa region, with specific focus on Burkina Faso, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire and Togo. The project has four interrelated objectives which it uses to guide all project activities and interventions and upon which key performance is based. These objectives are: • Objective 1: Strengthen and institutionalize a system for adaptation and replication of key
family planning high impact practices (Replication). • Objective 2: Engage and leverage domestic, donor and West African communities and
resources to build sustainability and scale of selected HIPs (Scale & Sustainability). • Objective 3: Institutionalize a sustainable and self-regulating system of service quality
assurance and monitoring (Quality Assurance). • Objective 4: Collaborate and coordinate with other USAID FP/RH partners working on
commodity security, demand creation, policy, learning and related health systems (Collaboration & Coordination).
During this quarter, Amplify PF managed to complete crucial start-up steps: • Onboarding of the four (4) key staff of the project; • Preparation and submission to USAID of the project first annual workplan; • Introductory visits to present the project to the Ministry of Health (MOH) and to key RH/FP
actors in Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and Niger for buy-in and to start building partnerships; • Meeting with USAID mission health team in the three countries to demonstrate how Amplify
PF fits into their mission country priorities and to discuss the role each mission team should play in supporting Amplify PF implementation.
The above steps are crucial to the foundation for success in the project as it undertakes implementation in the next quarter. There are some challenges ahead, namely: the delay in the registration of Pathfinder in Togo which prevents the project from recruiting local staff and limits its operations in Togo; the delay in the recruitment of the project’s non-key staff; and limited IT equipment in the regional office. However, Pathfinder is assiduously working to address all these issues and expect to have them fixed in the first half of the second quarter. In this report, a summary will be provided of all activities undertaken during the first three months of the project’s life; examining key success stories and challenges. A snapshot into planned actions over the next quarter will also be presented.
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Section 2: Description of Activities The period June 26, 2018 to September 30, 2018 consisted of the project startup phase. The key activities included recruitment of key personnel, identification and establishment of a regional project site, project stakeholder engagement, and year 1 work planning activities. All activities undertaken during the period will be reported according to project objectives. Objective 1: Strengthen and institutionalize a system for adaptation and replication of key family planning high impact practices (Replication) Activities Results Success A 3-day work planning workshop was held from September 12-14, 2018 in Togo.
This activity allowed for an exploration of how replication could be facilitated in the region.
This gathering enabled the 4 countries covered by Amplify PF to develop their draft 2018-2019 work plans based on the key activities each country has selected for the first year of the project.
Highlights of the 3-day work planning workshop from September 12-14, 2018 in Lomé
Opening ceremony of the regional workshop aiming at developing the 4 target countries’ 2018-2019 work plans: Left to Right: Dr. Aguima Frank Tankoano (Chief of Party, Amplify PF); Dr. Mbayi Kangudie (AOR, USAID), Dr Abraham AGOSSOU (Director, Maternal and Child Health, MOH Togo); Stephen Redding, Special Projects Advisor (Pathfinder International)
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Participants from Burkina, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger and Togo at the regional workshop on 2018-2019 country work plans development in Lomé
Objective 2: Engage and leverage domestic donors and West African communities and resources to build sustainability and scale of selected HIPs (Scale & Sustainability) Activities Results Success Meetings with country Technical and financial Partners of MOH in the domain of FP/RH
UNFPA, World Bank, SWEDD Project, French Development Agency (AFD), WHO, Projects funded by Foundations like BMGF and Hewlett were engaged and introduced to Amplify PF. The project advocated for the need to allocate more resources for FP, especially to fund the replication of High Impact Practices and for better coordination of the interventions in the area of RH/FP.
Consensus on the need to mobilize resources within the countries (private sector, municipalities, etc.) for FP/RH; Need to have a mapping of country coverage by funding source to identify and better understand any overlapping and/or gaps;
In each of the target countries, many key technical and financial partners (TFPs) were met in addition to MOH authorities, and CSOs. The table below (page 4) summarizes the key TFPs met per country.
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Burkina Faso Côte d’Ivoire Niger
1. JHPIEGO Project
2. TCI Project
3. UNFPA
4. USAID
1. Agence Française de Développement (AFD)
2. CRESAC
3. SWEDD Project
4. UNFPA
5. WHO
1. SWEDD Project
2. UNFPA
3. USAID
4. WHO
5. World Bank
Key TFPs met per country Highlights of meetings with Key FTPs in countries Meetings with key partners in Family Planning in Côte d’Ivoire (August 22-25, 2018)
Family Planning stakeholders meeting at the MOH of Côte d’Ivoire during Amplify PF team visit
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Meeting with Key partners in Family planning in Burkina Faso
Amplify PF team meeting with Partners in Family Planning at the DSF premises in Burkina Faso with the participation of USAID mission health office team
Meeting with Key partners in Family planning in Niger
Participants of the meeting with General Secretary of the Niger MOH (right of center).
Amplify PF delegation in meeting with the SG/MOH in his office on September 3rd, 2018
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Presentation of Amplify PF to stakeholders in the conference room of Pathfinder Niger country Office on September 4, 2018.
NB: Meetings in Togo have not taken place yet due to registration issues. Actions are being undertaken with the support of USAID/RHO to facilitate the meetings with key partners as well as health authorities in the upcoming quarter.
Meeting with UNFPA Niger team Amplify PF delegation with the USAID
Niger Health team
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Objective 3: Institutionalize a sustainable and self-regulating system of service quality assurance and monitoring (Quality Assurance) Activities Results Success Meeting with MOH authorities on Quality Family Planning/SR service delivery in country
Better knowledge of existing QA bodies in each country and its mandate as well as need for capacity strengthening
Consensus with MOH on the need to strengthen capacity of MOH QA body in each country
In all of the 4 target countries, the MOH has established a body in charge of service delivery quality. That body has developed norms, standards and protocols to disseminate to all the facilities. Often time, the body is understaffed and lack the technical capacity to undertake the tasks assigned to it. One of the major actions of Amplify PF will be to assess the capacity of that body in each country with the technical support from CRESAC which will help develop a capacity strengthening plan for each MOH’s QA body to share with the MOH. Once the plan is validated, it will be implemented. The focus of Amplify PF in this capacity strengthening activity will be on the adaptation of the existing norms and standards to the delivery of the HIPs and their extension to include aspects such as communication between the providers and the clients in the health facilities and within the community. Meeting with CRESAC in charge of quality Assurance within Amplify PF in Côte d’Ivoire
Amplify PF team meeting with CRESAC leadership at its office in Côte d’Ivoire during the country visit implemented August 22-25, 2018
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Objective 4: Collaborate and coordinate with other USAID FP/RH partners working on commodity security, demand creation, policy, learning and related health systems (Collaboration & Coordination) Activities Results Success USAID Mission Meetings
A meeting with each USAID mission health team in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Niger enables to demonstrate how Amplify PF fits into their mission country priorities and provides an opportunity to discuss the role each mission team should play in support of Amplify PF implementation.
Engagement from each team to support Amplify PF. The USAID Mission in Côte d’Ivoire gave their commitment noting that: “Amplify PF will become our talking point”; Agreement on need for better coordination of USAID funded projects and partners within countries.
Project Partners’ Meetings
Amplify PF, HP+, GHSCP, PSM, WABA, EAWA and TCI met with the AOR/RHO and discussed on how to ensure better collaboration and Coordination of USAID/RHO funded projects for better synergy and efficiency. This meeting took place during the regional work planning workshop.
Agreement to strengthen the collaboration and coordination among USAID/RHO partners; Consensus on Amplify PF to play the role of secretariat for the coordination of USAID/ RHO projects partners during the lifespan of the project.
Country Visits (Tournee)
These visits enabled stakeholders in each country (Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Niger) to learn from the Amplify PF objective and strategy related to coordination and collaboration of actors in FP/RH and to discuss the need to strengthen coordination of stakeholders for more efficiency in FP interventions. The visits occurred at the following period:
1. Côte d’Ivoire: August 22-25, 2018;
2. Burkina Faso: August 26-September 9, 2018;
3. Niger: September 3 – 7, 2018
Consensus on need for better collaboration and coordination; Consensus on the need to support MOHs in ensuring better coordination of stakeholders; Early touchpoints with key stakeholders (tournée and work planning workshop) facilitates collaboration and rapid launch of Amplify PF.
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Section 3: Challenges Encountered During the Period The main challenges experienced during the period centered on the following:
• Delay in the issuance of the registration of Pathfinder in Togo: Pathfinder has applied for its registration in Togo by filling out and submitting all required paperwork to the Ministry of Territorial Administration since August 10, 2018. This delay impacted general project operations, affected recruitment, impacted project timelines and presented a barrier to engagement with health authorities as well as technical and financial partners in family planning, in Togo.
• Limited personnel: With the onboarding of all the 4-key staff and the completion of the country visits and the submission of the workplan, the project gave top priority to the recruitment of the staff as outlined in the table below. Progress is currently being made with target to complete by the first half of the second quarter.”
• Limited equipment (computers, printer, photocopier, telephone land line, etc.): Despite the lack of certain equipment (printer, scanner, copier), the key staff made up of the Chief of Party, the Technical Director, the MEL Advisor and the Finance Manager were able to start the project key activities with the support of Pathfinder US and country offices.
While the above are notable challenges, the project team was able to competently navigate them, and at the same time identify mitigation approaches to address the challenges not resolved in the first quarter. The below table summarizes the proposed actions. # Challenge Proposed action(s) 1 Office
registration • Change the lawyer hired to facilitate the registration • Seek support from USAID • Network with health authorities and RCPFAS-TOGO
2 Limited
personnel • Develop a robust recruitment plan and make it a high priority • Task the key staff to support the recruitment of technical staff in
Lomé and at the country level 3 Limited
equipment • Acquire All-in-one (printer, scanner, copier) equipment; • Seek USAID/RHO support for tax waiver of IT equipment when
shipped to Amplify PF office in Lomé from the Pathfinder US office
• Acquire cars insurance through an arrangement with Engender Health while awaiting registration
A robust planning with bi-weekly monitoring conference call has been put in place to make sure that deadline set for the implementation of activities that will address the above challenges are respected.
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Section 4: Activities Planned for the Following Quarter The Year 1 workplan was submitted to USAID on September 26, 2018. The project team thus awaits feedback from USAID and from the four countries MOHs before implementation of activities can commence according to the workplan. Nonetheless, the key activities expected to characterize the next quarter include:
1. Finalize all the four countries year one workplans (Y1 WP) both the narrative, the grid and the budget as well as the regional WP and all its annexes including the MEL Plan, the research agenda, the learning agenda and the project’s knowledge product pipeline;
2. Complete recruitment and orientation of project staff for all four country offices 3. Acquire and install all the IT infrastructure and office furniture’s for staff in Lomé office
and in the 3 other countries for the project team; 4. Acquire insurance for cars and transfer designated cars to other USAID projects as
indicated by the AOR; 5. Prepare the draft TOR of USAID partners coordination meetings for review by the AOR; 6. Prepare the SOW of all planned technical support to the project during Year one (Y1); 7. Prepare in collaboration with country USAID health team and the AOR, the project
launching; 8. Participate in the different meetings (Ouagadougou partnership annual meeting in Dakar,
RHO Annual Partners Meeting in Ouagadougou); 9. Pursue the registration application follow-up with the support of USAID and other
partners; 10. Implement in collaboration with USAID/RHO team member based in Lomé, meetings with
health authorities and key technical and financial partners of Togo’s MOH; and 11. Introduce Amplify PF to WAHO’s Director General with the support of RHO.
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Section 5: Financial brief From the start of the project through September 30, 2018 a total of $303,546 was expended. Pathfinder anticipates spending to significantly increase in the next quarter as additional staff are hired and project implementation gets under way. The current projected spending for the next quarter is $182,500.00. Pathfinder anticipates the current obligation of $1,143,343 to be completely expended by March 2018.
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Section 6: Other
1. Results of USAID field visits during the reporting period
The new Director of Regional Health Office of USAID West Africa visited Togo and was introduced to the Amplify PF during the regional workshop for the year one work plan which gathered all the four target countries. Also, the AOR took part in the meeting to explain the objective of USAID regional office mandate through the implementation of regional projects such as Amplify PF. Pictures below illustrate the participation of the two RHO/USAID staff.
Introduction of the new USAID Regional Health Office director, Akua K. Addo (right) to the participants of the regional workshop in Lomé. (Dr. Mbayi Kangudie (AOR, USAID (center), Dr. Aguima Frank Tankoano (Chief of Party, Amplify PF) (left)
AOR/RHO, Dr. Mbayi Didier Kangudie (left) offering key notes during the opening ceremony. Dr. Abraham AGOSSOU, Director Maternal and Child Health, MOH Togo (center) and Stephen Redding, Special Projects Advisor, Pathfinder International (right)
2. Success stories
Though it may be premature at this stage to speak of success stories, there is a budding success that can be mentioned, and this is the collaboration, partnerships and synergy being promoted as a direct result of the project design. Such progress with regional partners is a positive indication that the project is well on its way to achieving its collaboration objective.
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Section 7: Annexes a. Year 1 Work Plan (Submitted)
Annex A- Y1 -AMPLIFYFP-Workpla
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b. Travel Forecast: Quarter 2 (October – December 2018)
Annex B- Travel Forecast.pdf
