Key facts
- Mott MacDonald is project managing TSF ESA, a UNAIDS-funded project, to support countries in achieving the vision of Three Zeros – zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS-related deaths, and zero HIV-related discrimination.
- TSF ESA provides a wide range of timely, high quality technical support to 21 countries across these two regions to enable and support their HIV response.
- Technical support is available to a range of stakeholders including national coordination bodies, government ministries, civil society organisations, Country Coordinating Mechanisms, Global Fund grant recipients, implementing partners, businesses, UN agencies and other regional/international partners.
- The TSF ESA works with clients to define technical support needs, source and select the right consultant, manage contracts and assure quality of deliverables and strengthen the capacity of country partners and regional consultants.
- TSF ESA has provided 4, 800 days of consultant technical support in the region from April 2014 – July 2015 – successfully delivering 89 consultancies in 20 countries, including 33 regional assignments.
Challenges
Although there is an urgent need to accelerate the HIV and AIDS response in eastern and southern African donor funding cannot be increased accordingly. Countries supported by the TSF ESA will identify efficiencies and priorities within their HIV programmes, improve targeting of interventions and find solutions for bottlenecks and challenges.
Country partners may lack funding to pay for technical support or the contracting mechanisms that allow us to engage them. Country partners in the 21 supported countries in ESA conduct work in a changing environment, therefore requiring ongoing capacity development for all involved in responding to the HIV and AIDS response.
Strategic planning, improved models of service delivery and health innovation must be improved and expanded to accelerate the HIV response, rather than “business as usual”.
Solution
TSF ESA focuses on providing support to countries to access donor financing, such as Global Fund Concept Note development. In 2014-2015 it supported the development of 14 country and two regional concept notes.
The facility has assisted UNAIDS country partners to identify and access funding for technical support. This included access to the UNAIDS Technical Assistance Fund for qualifying applicants.
TSF ESA enhances the capacity of partners, consultants, national and civil society stakeholders across priority areas to improve their HIV and health systems response. It also has facilitated strategic planning, improved service delivery models and enhanced use of strategic information. This includes the development of national strategic and monitoring and evaluation plans, institutional strategies, a framework and mapping of community service delivery models, national HIV prevention strategies and operational plans for combination HIV prevention.
Value and benefits
- TSF ESA is viewed as a responsive and trusted provider of technical support for the HIV response in the eastern and southern African regions.
- It helps clients and partners clarify needs and proactively plan for technical support to enhance its outcomes. Terms of Reference are refined to ensure that technical support interventions always match technical support needs.
- It also assists in finding quality assured, short-term consultants by sourcing them from a quality assured consultant network, with an emphasis on local and regional consultants whenever possible.
- To ensure optimal results from all technical support interventions, management and ongoing support is provided to the client and consultant through contract management and quality assurance.
- TSF ESA members prioritise capacity development and skills transfer in every aspect of their work and are committed to increasing the sustainability and impact of HIV and AIDS responses throughout eastern and southern Africa.