Health Leadership Project (HLP) Annual Progress Report Fiscal Year 2021, Quarter 1 Progress Report

The program aims to build the GOH's capacity to lead and finance the health sector, as well as improve the GOH's planning and oversight of the health workforce. The HLP is implemented by Management Sciences for Health (MSH) and local solution partners Group Croissance (GC) and the Centre de Formation et d'Encadrement Technique (CFET). The HLP's two objectives are to build the GOH's capacity to lead and finance the health sector, and to improve the GOH's planning and oversight of the health workforce. To achieve these objectives, the HLP is implementing various activities, including supporting the MSPP in analyzing the health financing context in Haiti, assessing management and use of internal revenue, and providing training to UEP staff on data collection and analysis. In the first quarter of 2021, the HLP supported the UEP in assessing the MSPP's management and use of internal revenue in 74 health institutions. The HLP trained seven UEP staff as data collectors and supervised the data collection process, which resulted in a 82.43% completeness rate. The HLP also worked with the UEP team to enter and clean data collected in the Excel database for analysis. The HLP has also continued to implement its COVID-19 contingency plan to provide guidance on maintaining staff health and safety while ensuring project continuity. The HLP has purchased and provided personal protection equipment to staff and made hand sanitizers available at the front desk to ensure all persons entering the building sanitize their hands. The HLP has also fully reopened its office in Port au Prince but continues to monitor the public health and security context closely to make appropriate and informed decisions on office closure as needed. The HLP has made significant progress in building the capacity of local partners, GC and CFET. In the first quarter of 2021, both organizations scored the highest score of 4 on a scale of 1 to 4 on the Organizational Capacity Assessment (OCA) tool, indicating that they have strong controls over critical practices for managing direct funding. The HLP has also continued to monitor sub-award compliance and mitigate any identified financial, contractual, and technical risks. The HLP has also continued to collaborate with the MSPP to implement approved activities in the year 2 work plan. The HLP has worked closely with the UEP team to enter and clean data collected in the Excel database for analysis, and has provided training to UEP staff on data collection and analysis. The HLP has also continued to support the MSPP in analyzing the health financing context in Haiti, assessing management and use of internal revenue, and providing training to UEP staff on data collection and analysis. The HLP has also continued to monitor and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and ongoing insecurity on project implementation. The HLP's project director submits weekly updates to USAID on the impact of COVID-19 and security on project implementation, and the team continues to engage with MSH's Global Safety and Security Manager to mitigate risks. The HLP has also continued to implement its COVID-19 contingency plan to provide guidance on maintaining staff health and safety while ensuring project continuity. In the next quarter, the HLP will focus on completing all required reports, including quarterly accrual and progress reports, and conducting monthly meetings with HLP leadership and USAID team. The HLP will also continue to monitor sub-award compliance and mitigate any identified financial, contractual, and technical risks. The HLP will also continue to monitor and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and ongoing insecurity on project implementation.