Training and Workshops
Capacity building through procurement and supply management training workshops.
Challenges-
Related to Principal Recipient:
The planning and conducting of procurement is a complex process and requires significant knowledge of logistics, finance, health, global supply situation, donor policies and intellectual property rights related to drugs. However, there is a dearth of experienced procurement managers globally and the situation is even more challenging in the recipient countries.
Related to Local Fund Agent:
The Local Fund Agents contracted by the Global Fund have in turn contracted with technical PSM specialists that conduct the PSM assessments. However, different Local Fund Agents emphasize different challenges and there is need to bring consistency within and between different Local Fund Agents.
Related to Fund Portfolio Manager:
Given that 50% of the grant is being applied towards procurement of drugs and commodities, it is critical that the operations team are well versed with the details of procurement and are aware of the key bottlenecks. Several Fund Portfolio Manager and other members of the operations team have asked for assistance in procurement and supply management.
Initiative-
Training of Principal Recipients:
To strengthen the capacity of Principal Recipients, two workshops have been conducted in collaboration with technical partners.
The first procurement workshop was organized in December 2004, in Nairobi, Kenya, and focused on writing and approving PSM plans. The workshop was conducted jointly with World Bank, WHO, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNICEF, MSH, JSI, EPN, Crown Agents and Esther. Participants were from African countries which included Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Another workshop was organized in February 2005 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and focused on Managing Procurement and Logistics of HIV/AIDS Drugs and Related Supplies. The workshop was conducted jointly with World Bank, WHO, UNAIDS, UNICEF and Esther. Participants for the workshop were from Djibouti, Mali, Nger, DR Congo, Burkina Faso, Chad, Rwanda, Benin, Burundi, Madagascar, Senegal, Cameroon, CAR, Guinee, Mauritania.
There is a similar workshop currently being held in Arusha, Tanzania to assist countries in managing HIV procurement and distribution and also to write PSM plans. In addition, there are 4 -6 more workshops planned in 2005-2006 in Nigeria, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia.
Training of Local Fund Agents
There is training workshop for Local Fund Agents planned for second quarter 2005. The objectives are to clarify the important elements of procurement that the Secretariat would like the Local Fund Agents to focus on during their in-country assessments and reviews, to receive feedback and finalize the revised version of the Local Fund Agent Assessment Tool, and to bring greater consistency in assessment of PSM capacity and plans.
Training of Fund Portfolio Managers and Operations team members
One conducted, another 4 planned for this year
As indicated earlier, almost 50% of the total grant value is spent on procurement of products. And given that a large number of Fund Portfolio Manager and other Operations staff have joined the Global Fund during the past 3-6 months, it is of paramount importance to strengthen the Operation teams capacity to manage Principal Recipient procurement more effectively.
PSM training of Fund Portfolio Manager and other Operations staff has already started and has been structured to cover different topics over a four-module program. The next session is planned to start at the end of April, as part of Global Funds internal Operations Training Courses.
Results-
Related to Principal Recipients:
Nearly all the Principal Recipients arrived at the workshop with a draft PSM plan they had written based on the new template. By the end of the workshop, all but one of the PSM plans has been completed, assessed and approved.
Related to Local Fund Agent:
Training is planned for second quarter 2005.
Related to Fund Portfolio Manager and Operations team members
To date, 25 people have been trained to understand the key issues in PSM and how to address or refer them to the appropriate organization or department.
