Post on 28-May-2022
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ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS
Malawi
Supporting the Efforts of Partners (STEPs)
Quarterly Progress Report for 1th Quarter of the Project
October 31, 2014
Illustrative Five Year Workplan
June 19, 2014-June 19, 2019
October, 2014
This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by
Counterpart International, Inc. Malawi Office.
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Table of Contents
Overview……………………………………………………………………………………3
Acronym List……………………………………………………………………………….4
Background…………………………………………………………………………………5
Project Objectives…………………………………………………………………………..5
Expected Results…………………………………………………………………………....5
Overall Progress of the Project for the Quarter…………………………………………….5
I. Preparation for Implementation Planning…………………………………………..7
II. Challenges, Solutions and Actions Taken…………………………………………..7
Criteria for Community Care Sub-Partner Solicitation……………………………………..7
1. Geographic Focus……………………………………………………………….8
2. Technical Focus…………………………………………………………………8
3. Budget Allocation ………………………………………………………………9
4. Targets and Duration of Sub Grants…………………………………………….9
5. Monitoring and Evaluation………………………………………………………10
III. Lessons Learned, Best Practices and Recommendations…………………………....10
IV. Success Stories………………………………………………………………………11
V. Management Issues………………………………………………………………….11
VI. Update of the PMEP…………………………………………………………………11
VII. Planned Activities for Next Quarter………………………………………………....11
Annex A……………………………………………………………………………………..13
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Overview
Project Name: Supporting the Efforts of Partners (STEPs)
Reporting Period: July 1, 2014 - September 30, 2014
Obligation Funding Amount: $4,094,521
September Pipeline: $314,466.92
Project Duration: The effective date of this Award is June 19, 2014. The estimated completion
date of this Award is June 19, 2019.
Person Responsible for Drafting this Report: Dr. Paultre Pierre Desrosiers, Chief of Party
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ACRONYMS
ADC Association for Community Development
AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
APS Annual Program Statement
ART Anti-Retroviral Therapies
BCC Behavior Change Communication
CADECO Capacity Development Consultants
CADECOM Catholic Development Commission in Malawi
CBO Community-Based Organization
CDCS Country Development and Cooperation Strategy
CESC Center for Civil Society Learning and Capacity Building
COP Chief of Party
CSO Civil Society Organization
DCOP Deputy Chief of Party
EOI Expression of Interest
GOM Government of Malawi
HTC HIV testing and counselling
IR Intermediate Results
LWA Leader with Associates Award
MLI Market Linkages Initiative
NAPHAM National Association for People Living with HIV and AIDS
NGO Non-Government Organization
NMCP National Malaria Control Program
OCD Organizational Capacity Development
PACAM Palliative Care Association of Malawi
PODA Participatory Organization Development Assessments
PEPFAR President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
PHDP Positive, Health Dignity and Prevention
PLHIV People living with HIV
SSDI-Services Support for Service Delivery Integration-Services
STEPs Supporting Efforts of Partners
TA Traditional Authority
USG United States Government
WALA II Wellness and Agriculture for Life Advancement
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Background
Under the USAID Global Civil Society Leader with Associates Award (LWA), Counterpart
International, Inc (Counterpart) proposes a $12.5M program for USAID/Malawi for
“Supporting the Efforts of Partners (STEPs),” a civil society strengthening program that will
form the core of USAID/Malawi’s commitment to the USAID Forward Initiative. This is
particularly in regards to the achievement of the “Local Solutions Initiative Objective 2: Local
Capacity Development.” This partnership based program seeks to strengthen the capacity of
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Malawi organizationally and technically so that they can
become integral to the ability of Malawi to address a variety of social, economic, and
environmental challenges that are hindering the quality of life of the Malawian people.
Project Objectives
Counterpart will support local partners to provide stronger, better integrated responses to the
country’s most urgent health needs. Our program activities fall within two program components:
Component 1: Organizational Capacity Development (OCD) will include intensive and
customized OCD technical assistance, mentoring, and training for targeted CSOs, based on our
application of Participatory Organization Development Assessments (PODA) to participating
CSOs. Component 2: Sub-Grant Awards and Management will build upon the OCD work
and focus on supporting the technical ability of local CSOs to work on HIV/AIDS, malaria and
disability initiatives through the provision of grants.
Expected Results
The STEPs Program is expected to contribute to the USAID sub-Intermediate Results (IRs)
under the USAID Country Development and Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) for 2013-2018
entitled, “Capacity of Institutions Improved.” Particularly, STEPs is expected to result in: 1)
improved organizational capacity of at least 44 Malawian CSOs; 2) the effective implementation
of approximately 16 grants and projects addressing issues and providing services that positively
impact the Malawian population. Over the life of the activity, Counterpart will provide OCD
support to at least 44 CSOs that will include OCD grants and technical assistance to address
issues related to the health sector, education, climate change, persons with disabilities,
agriculture policy, democracy, human rights and governance. While all 44 aforementioned CSOs
will receive capacity building inputs, not all 44 CSOs will receive grants.
I. Overall Progress of the Project for the Quarter
As this program began in June, this quarterly report will be focused on startup activities related
to the establishment of the program in Malawi.
In the first month of the program (June, 2014) the STEPs team worked with a local consultant
and lawyer to go through the necessary steps of registration. Such activities included the
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gathering and processing of documents, meetings with stakeholders and consultations with HQ.
Introductory meetings with USAID and other key stakeholders also began shortly after. A local
bank account was set up with the assistance of USAID Malawi.
By July, the second month of the program, a startup team (comprised of both HQ and local
personnel) was established in Malawi and actively worked to get key personnel on board. They
furthered the start-up process by identifying and leasing an office, securing utilities and setting
up a post office box. As soon as the office was leased, the team secured both furniture and office
supplies, as well as support services like security, cleaning and maintenance. This was all with
the intention of getting the office up and running as soon as possible.
August was a crucial month for staffing the program, as the DCOP came on board to lead the
staffing process for the rest of the team. Job announcements were posted, applicants were
screened, and a short list of interview candidates was compiled. Interview processes began in
August and continued through September as the COP came on board.
Stakeholder meetings also continued in August and the Grants Planning Committee, comprised
of representatives from Counterpart and USAID, was established. The function of the Grants
Planning Committee is to determine selection criteria for the CSOs who will be a part of the
STEPs program. Such criteria will then be used to identify CSOs that qualify to receive an
invitation from STEPs to submit an EOI for the program grant and capacity building activities.
At the beginning of September, the COP joined the STEPs team in Malawi and continued both
operational and programmatic startup activities which had begun with the HQ startup team.
Program staffing continued, as did meetings with key stakeholders and USAID. Preliminary
meetings were held with the National Association for People living with HIV/AIDS (NAPHAM)
and the Palliative Care Association of Malawi (PACAM). These are the partners, who due to the
nature of their mandate, have been identified to receive HIV/AIDS grants. NAPHAM is a
renowned local organization that implements community programs for PLHIV throughout
Malawi. PACAM is the only local organization in Malawi dedicated to providing palliative care
services and monitoring policy on palliative care issues. The Grants Planning Committee held
two meetings to discuss CSO selection criteria and next steps for the release of the program EOI.
The 5 Year Workplan, Year 1 Workplan, Implementation Plan, PMEP and Grants Manual were
submitted to the Mission on September 19.
During the first three months of the award, the project held a number of start-up meetings with
USAID and project staff to discuss the focus of the program, program planning and initial
activities.
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Preparation for Implementation Planning
Based on the current scope of work, the project started planning a desk review and field
assessment to assist in the diagnosis of key leverage points for project interventions. This
exercise began with the compilation of relevant policies, strategies, systems and practices, via
desk review and informal meetings with relevant partners. A key approach to country ownership
is to ensure that the project is integrated into ongoing Government of Malawi (GOM) initiatives,
especially around the HIV/AIDS and Malaria programs. The mapping, desk review and rapid
field assessment were conducted to target priority issues in more depth, for improved
coordination and implementation of project activities. This deskwork and the rapid assessment
cut across the two project components.
The project took advantage of an opportunity to participate in a USAID Implementing Partners'
meeting. This meeting aimed to assist the Mission in jointly furthering the vision of integrated
development. The meeting took place on Thursday, 25 September, at Ufulu Gardens Conference
Hall from 8:00am to 4:00pm. It was an opportunity to meet with some of USAID activity
managers who will be working with the STEPS project and also meet some of the potential
stakeholders.
II. Challenges, Solutions and Actions Taken
During this initial planning and start-up phase, the project continued USAID involvement in the
narrowing of the scope of activities, particularly in the selection of focus geographic areas and
NGOs. Below are some initial challenges and constraints, along with suggestions and plans to
overcome them.
Refinement of Project Focus
STEPs appreciates USAID’s collaborative effort to further focus the scope of activities and
formalize this process. Counterpart notes that the scope of activities was formally narrowed via a
document that was forwarded to the project by e-mail as guidance on the selection of potential
districts and partners.
Through this guidance it was established that with HIV funds, the STEPs activity will support
both Organizational Capacity Development (OCD) of local Malawian organizations (40%) and
provide sub-grants (60%) to a sub-set of these organizations in order to support their community
care work objectives. Several of the local organizations have already been identified by the
HIV/AIDS Team. Additional organizations will be identified through an open solicitation in
specific geographic areas that are relevant to the HIV/AIDS team’s goals. The number of
additional organizations added to the STEPS activity will depend on available funding. Identified
organizations under HIV/AIDS include the following:
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Organization Name Local Partners
receiving OCD
Local Partners receiving
sub-grants
1 THAO (APS) x
2 CEDEP x
3 Pakachere x
4 Sex Worker Alliance x
5 NAPHAM x x
6 PACAM x x
7 1 org in 1 prioritized TA in Lilongwe
Rural
x x
8 1 org in 1 prioritized TA in Chikwawa x x
9 1 org in 1 prioritized TA in Nsanje x x
10 1 org in 1 prioritized TA in Blantyre x x
Criteria for Community Care Sub-Partner Solicitation
The STEPs project will openly solicit for local partners to implement targeted HIV/AIDS
community care programs in USAID priority districts and PEPFAR sites within those districts.
The local partner’s ongoing programs will complement and support PEPFAR Malawi’s
HIV/AIDS program, which aims to prevent new HIV infections and save lives in high impact
geographic areas. STEPs will work in close collaboration with other existing USAID/Malawi
implementing mechanisms such as the One C Platform, WALA II and MLI. This will enable
STEPs to have a comprehensive understanding of the broader PEPFAR HIV technical direction
within community-based prevention. Furthermore, it will enable care and support of technical
areas so that local awardees can work synergistically with other USG funded partners to achieve
HIV care outcomes.
STEPs will ensure that each prospective sub-partner has undergone a capacity assessment from
both the OCD and HIV technical perspectives to identify the capacity gaps of the organization.
1. Geographic focus
STEPs will solicit at least one local partner for care and support programming in each of
the following 4 districts: Lilongwe Rural, Blantyre, Chikwawa and Nsanje. The HIV
team will be open to STEPs suggestions in regards to cost-saving by selecting 2 local
partners/2 districts (prioritize LLW-rural and Nsanje) instead of one partner/4 districts.
The HIV/AIDS team will also be open to selecting more than four total partners for sub-
granting over the life of the project if funding allows. In each district PEPFAR has
identified priority community sites/catchment areas of selected high volume health
facilities for HIV/AIDS services. These sites are identified as Traditional Authorities
(TAs). Within each of the 4 districts, solicited local partners will implement their
programs in one of the prioritized TAs.
Furthermore, all identified organizations that receive sub-grants (NAPHAM and
PACAM) should utilize those funds in USAID HIV priority districts (Balaka, Machinga,
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Mulanje, Mangochi, Phalombe, Zomba, Chikwawa, Nsanje, Dowa, Kasungu, Chitipa,
Karonga, Salima, Nkhotakota, and Lilongwe).
2. Technical focus
STEPS will ensure that each successful local partner demonstrates competencies and
innovation to deliver a standardized community package to link PLHIV to age
appropriate care services within facilities and targeted communities. This may include the
following key activities:
• Establish bidirectional referral systems between community care groups and
facilities
• Facilitate community HIV + case identification, with a focus on pediatric cases,
and linkage to HIV treatment and care services – in partnership with district based
USAID HIV treatment partner, SSDI-Services.
• Provide age appropriate community case management
• Provide Positive, Health Dignity and Prevention (PHDP) interventions, including
adherence support, through age appropriate PLHIV groups
• Provide nutritional support for PLHIV
Illustrative Results:
• Percent of referrals that are issued that are completed
• # of HIV+ cases through HTC identified (disaggregated by age and sex)
• Percent and number of eligible targeted individuals initiated on ART
• Percent of population retained in care
• Number of condoms distributed annually in target districts to PLHIV
• # of trained PLHIV support groups
• Percent of community health workers utilizing approved HIV positive prevention
toolkits
• # of HIV-positive adults and children receiving a minimum of one care service
• # of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) reached with a minimum package of
Prevention with PLHIV (PwP) interventions
• Number of trained CBOs actively delivering HIV services to target populations
3. Budget allocation
The HIV/AIDS team anticipates that depending on the identified capacity gaps, the need
for technical delivery and results, and absorptive capacity of the local partner, STEPs will
determine the budget allocation for each sub partner (this may be done in collaboration
with the HIV team).
STEPs will utilize the budget allocation provided by the HIV/AIDS team for year one to
cover the OCD and technical programming needs of the local partners. The expected
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budget split between OCD and technical sub granting is 40/60 of the total obligated HIV
funding respectively. STEPs is expected to provide feedback to USAID on the final
expected budget expenditures for the year for HIV after factoring in overhead costs.
4. Targets and Duration of Sub Grants
• The HIV team is expecting to fund up to 10 -14 local partners through the STEPs
mechanism for OCD and sub-granting functions. If funding allows, the second
round of solicitation maybe undertaken in year 2 and may solicit 4 new local
partners for OCD and sub-granting (in addition to those selected in year 1). This
will bring the total number of organizations served to 14.
• STEPs will develop three-year sub granting agreements with each HIV local
partner. The sub granting agreements will be subject to extension depending on
organizational management, technical performance and availability of funding at
the three year mark.
5. Monitoring and Evaluation
• PEPFAR does not have required indicators for OCD. STEPs will revise the
PMEP that was submitted to USAID and develop a robust Monitoring and
Evaluation plan that outlines custom/USAID/country level OCD indicators and
targets for all levels of OCD support that will be provided to enable clear and
tangible measurement of capacity development progress at the end of the project.
These indicators will be approved by USAID and will be reviewed in partnership
with USAID to assess progress over the first three years.
• For HIV technical programming, STEPs will incorporate all of the PEPFAR
indicators as suggested by USAID in the table below. In addition, STEPs will
support successful local partners in the development of appropriate custom
indicators for monitoring progress in technical delivery based on the illustrative
results indicated above.
PEPFAR Indicators
MER Code Indicator
Status
Indicator
Type
Progra
m
Area
Indicator Label
Targe
t
Type
FY14
Target
FY15
Target
OVC_SERV New MER Individua
l OVC
Number of active
beneficiaries receiving
support from PEPFAR
OVC programs to access
HIV services
DSD √
FN_ASSES
S New MER
Individua
l
Food
&
Nutriti
on
Proportion of PLHIV
who were nutritionally
assessed via
anthropometric
measurement.
DSD √
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CO_CSO_N
AT
New MER Above
Site
Countr
y
Owner
ship
Percentage of civil
society organizations
receiving HIV program
funding
N/A no targets
required,
but FY14
reporting
required
no targets
required,
but FY15
reporting
required
Engagement of the Government of Malawi (GOM) in defining the project’s priority outcomes
GOM ownership of this program is critical as the project moves ahead in close collaboration
with the GOM. The STEPs project has offered its assistance to USAID to set up such a meeting
and engage with the Ministry of Health NMCP and the HIV Unit. This will facilitate the
project’s ability to engage and partner with this stakeholder in narrowing the scope of activities,
defining priorities, work planning and moving forward with the assessment. The project needs to
ensure that it focuses both on the high priorities of the GOM and on the priorities for which
improved functioning of the coordination framework will result in better health outcomes. Such
priorities will be given attention instead of only focusing on the coordination structures alone.
III. Lessons, Best Practices and Recommendations
None to report
IV. Success Stories
Success stories will be submitted in future quarters, as project implementation begins.
V. Management Issues
The Finance and Compliance Manager is the final key personnel position needed to be hired for
STEPs. Based on USAID feedback on the two previously submitted potential candidates, we
plan to hire for this position during the month of November,
VI. Update of the PMEP
None to report
VII. Planned Activities for Next Quarter
• Financial Management Training of USAID Partners – Lilongwe.
• Finalize 5 Year Workplan and Year 1 Workplan incorporating comments from USAID
by early November.
• Hold the launching ceremony for STEPs in December.
• Continue with Stakeholder and partner engagement process.
• Support NAPHAM and PACAM to develop concepts and Project Description for their
projects.
• Review existing capacity assessments and documentation.
• Disseminate Request for Applications for malaria sub grants.
• Draft Memorandum of Understanding and Scope of Work for PACAM and NAPHAM.
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• Meeting with USAID on Monday October 20, 2014 to discuss STEPs malaria concept
and devise way forward on identification of potential local NGOs for Malaria in Mchinji
and Machinga.
• When all staff are on board the project is planning to conduct a half-day internal
orientation on USAID branding and marking requirements, a one-and-a-half day internal
skills-building workshop on Organizational Network Analysis and two days of team-
building, covering roles and responsibilities for internal teamwork.
• In December right after the kick-off/launching meeting, the project will conduct two days
of hands-on internal workshops for staff from Counterpart and selected NGOs on change-
agent facilitation skills, which will be essential for facilitating stronger coordination
across the Malawian HIV/AIDS response. In Quarter 2 FY15, STEPs intends to follow
up with additional training on dialogue interviewing, a critical tool for supporting and
mentoring leaders.
• Conduct Proposal Writing & Design, M & E and Grant Reporting Workshops for
selected NGOs.
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Annex A
Organizational Structure
**Yellow indicates Startup Team Members