ENVISION Semi Annual Report October 1, 2011- March 31, 2012

The project focuses on five priority objective areas: providing implementation support to countries, providing technical assistance facility, enhancing capacity building at global and country levels, supporting global technical leadership and policy development, and ensuring data management. Implementation support to countries is a key objective of the ENVISION Program. Eight countries were identified for implementation assistance under ENVISION in the Year 1 Work plan: Cameroon, Guinea, Haiti, Indonesia, Mali, Nepal, Tanzania, and Uganda. These country programs received funding under the NTD Control Program (NTDCP)-approved work plans in Q1-Q2 and will transition to ENVISION funding in the 2nd half of the year. The project team has been working to develop a Communications Strategy for ENVISION. The strategy aims to provide a framework for effective communication and stakeholder engagement. Possible logo designs and color palettes are being discussed, and the strategy document will be submitted to USAID in the 2nd half of the year. The Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) is a key component of the ENVISION Program. Dr. Achille Kabore was designated as the TAF Coordinator and is working to define the systems for processing requests to ensure that the TAF is a useful and responsive tool for providing on-demand strategic and technical support to national programs and implementing partners. The ENVISION team has been working closely with USAID and the World Health Organization (WHO) to determine where and how ENVISION will support global NTD guidelines development and facilitate the 'implementation research' needed to demonstrate their effectiveness. As a result of an NTD Technical Meeting held in March 2012, USAID established an NTD External Advisory Group to be hosted by ENVISION. The Group's principal purpose will be to advise on technical approaches and strategies, especially in situations where WHO global guidelines do not yet exist or where broad guidelines need to be interpreted for specific situations or specific challenges. Improved systems and practices for the management and monitoring of NTD program data are fundamental to national NTD program success. The ENVISION team worked with WHO to develop questionnaires for national NTD programs on the M&E and data management. These questionnaires aim to provide a standardized framework for collecting and analyzing data on NTD programs, which will enable better monitoring and evaluation of program effectiveness. The ENVISION Program has made significant progress in its first six months. The project team has been working to develop a comprehensive Communications Strategy, establish the Technical Assistance Facility, and support global NTD guidelines development. The program has also made progress in developing improved systems and practices for the management and monitoring of NTD program data.