Created in 2011, Burundi’s PNLS was tasked with leading the long-term implementation of the Ministry of Health’s HIV/AIDS programs. PNLS lacked strong management and organizational capacity, resulting in strategies that were not operationalized, programs and plans that were not well implemented, stakeholders that were not well coordinated, provinces that were not able to plan and manage their activities, and inadequate mobilization of resources. The Burundian government and USAID/PEPFAR recognized that strengthening national-level capacity to carry out core functions would enable the achievement of better HIV/AIDS results and thus requested this support for PNLS under the HFG Project.
Select Services
From 2013-2016, TRG worked closely with the 38 staff and five divisions of the PNLS. This intervention entailed:
- Conducting an organizational assessment that we developed specifically for government offices within ministries of health.
- Implementing Phase 1: Strengthening basic management practices
- Developed an organizational vision
- Conducted leadership and management training
- Built effective work teams
- Created a senior management team
- Conducted facilitation and presentation skills training
- Coached management
- Updated job descriptions
- Provided IT equipment
- Implementing Phase 2: Strengthening core functions
- Conducted stakeholder engagement skills training
- Built project management skills
- Conducted operational planning and monitoring and evaluation training
- Developed a national supervision strategy
- Conducted training of trainers
- Developed a plan for external communication
- Implementing Phase 3: Application of skills in carrying out core functions
- Developed a PNLS annual operational plan
- Validated operational plan and supervision strategy with external stakeholders
- Established a coordination mechanism for other MOH offices and partners
- Prepared PNLS for their role as a Global Fund Principal Recipient
Select Results
The outcomes of this intervention were as follows:
- PNLS organizational vision developed
- First ever annual operational plan developed
- Coordination mechanism for partners established
- Supervision strategy developed and implemented
- Core group of 10 trainers established
- Senior management team consisting of director, deputy director, and five division chiefs established
- Division teams strengthened
- Individual roles and responsibilities clarified
- Working conditions, e.g. IT equipment, renovation of meeting room, provision of office furniture, improved
- Culture of participatory management established
The evaluation data from PNLS and its partners indicate the strong progress that PNLS has made in assuming its leadership role in the HIV and AIDS sector. The results are especially noticeable in the areas of operational planning, supervision, coordination, and training – all core functions for which PNLS is responsible.
The newly strengthened PNLS was able to pass stringent criteria around financial management, governance/ project management, monitoring and evaluation and procurement and supply management to become the Principal Recipient in 2016 for Global Fund’s new Funding Model for HIV/AIDS.
A stakeholder noted that “PNLS is now among the best organized programs in the ministry of health with leadership and staff motivated to address the challenges and which collaborates effectively with its partners.”
