DRC-IHP Trip Report: Jean Kagubare (September 2013)

The project's overall objective is to improve the health conditions of the Congolese people, with a focus on increasing the use of high-impact family planning, maternal, newborn, and child health (FP/MNCH); nutrition, malaria, and tuberculosis (TB); neglected tropical diseases (NTDs); HIV/AIDS; and water, sanitation, and hygiene services (WASH). The IHP project is implemented by Management Sciences for Health (MSH) in partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Overseas Strategic Consulting, Ltd. (OSC). The project's two major components are "services" and "other health systems." The "services" component focuses on increasing the use of high-impact family planning, maternal, newborn, and child health, nutrition, malaria, and tuberculosis, while the "other health systems" component aims to improve the implementation of selected policies, program advocacy, and decision-making, particularly at the provincial levels. During a trip to the DRC in September 2013, Jean Kagubare, Global Technical Lead, Healthcare Financing, MSH, worked with the IHP team to develop the Project Year 4 (PY4) workplan, with a focus on the Results-Based Financing (RBF) program. The primary tasks accomplished during the workshop included performance analysis of key activities and indicators achieved by the project overall and by each coordination office at the end of fiscal year 3, summary of key lessons learned during the implementation of IHP interventions and innovations, identification of major challenges at the central level and the coordination offices during PY3, brainstorming of possible solutions, identification of activities and strategies to be implemented based on priorities for PY4, development of a detailed budget to support activities during PY4, and identification of key strategies for increased project sustainability and improved project performance at all levels. Kagubare also updated IHP RBF indicators, tools, and templates and conducted a refresher training for the IHP RBF team. The training was attended by eight IHP staff at the central level, and the purpose was to demonstrate the use of the revised RBF IHP tools and templates. International Business & Technical Consultants, Inc. (IBTCI) presented the preliminary findings of the impact evaluation of the IHP project and the IHP RBF program, and key lessons and recommendations were provided and discussed. Recommendations from IBTCI were incorporated into the IHP RBF Year 4 workplan. The IHP RBF program plan for PY4 was shared with the Ministry of Health's RBF unit, and valuable feedback and recommendations were provided on how to improve the program and enhance collaboration with the MOH. The MOH RBF team recommended that IHP should clarify team members' roles and responsibilities at central and district levels, develop, produce, and distribute RBF materials in all RBF health facilities, explore how to subcontract private and other secondary health facilities in the RBF program, work with the MOH RBF unit to plan and conduct regular joint supervision and evaluation of the RBF program in the IHP health zones, set up the RBF web application for the MOH, and conduct the training of key staff for the maintenance of the website. The next steps for the IHP RBF program include finalizing the IHP RBF health zone plans and budget, finalizing the scopes of work for the IHP RBF central core team and health zone teams, obtaining USAID's approval of Community-Based Organizations (CBO) contracts, conducting refresher trainings for RBF implementers in the remaining health zones, finalizing the development of the RBF business plans for health facilities, and signing RBF contracts.