HEALTH TRAINING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT - PROJECT EVALUATION SUMMARY

EVALUATION COVERS THE PERIOD 9/78 TO 11/79 AND IS BASED ON DATA FROM PROJECT DOCUMENTS AND REPORTS AND DISCUSSIONS WITH USAID"S HEALTH AND NUTRITION OFFICE (HN) AND THE PROGRAM EVALUATION OFFICER. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE HAS BEEN NO PROGRESS TO DATE IN IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT, DUE TO INADEQUATE EFFORTS OF GOI INSTITUTIONS IN FORMULATING WELL-DEFINED PLANS AND PRIORITIES; DISCONTINUITY OF LEADERSHIP AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (NIHRD); QUESTIONALBE GOI COMMITMENT TO HEALTH EDUCATION; AND LACK OF ADEQUATE STAFF AND CONTINUITY IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT AT USAID/HN. IN ADDITION, THE REQUEST FOR CONTRACTOR PROPOSAL WAS DELAYED BY A VEHICLE FUNDING DISPUTE BETWEEN AID AND NIHRD. (ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR VEHICLES IS NEEDED.) FINALLY, CANDIDATES FOR LONG-TERM US TRAINING LACK ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY. USAID HAS PROPOSED FUNDING IN-COUNTRY ENGLISH LANGUAGE TRAINING, BUT THIS WILL REDUCE THE FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR US TRAINING. ENCOURAGING SIGNS ARE NOT LACKING, HOWEVER, SUCH AS THE RECENT IMPROVEMENT IN LEADERSHIP OF SOME KEY GOI INSTITUTIONS, ESPECIALLY THE DEPARTMENT OF NUTRITION; FULL STAFFING OF USAID/HN; AND A STRONGER GOI COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY NUTRITION. THE FOLLOWING STEPS SHOULD BE TAKEN PROMTLY: (1) DEVELOPMENT WITH GOI OF A NUTRITIONAL SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM (NNSS) AND, IF NECESSARY, INITIATION OF PROCEDURES FOR SOLE SOURCE WAIVER FOR THE PHASE II NNSS CONTRACTOR; (2) A REVIEW WITH GOI OF THE LACK OF AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE HEALTH EDUCATION COMPONENT AND A REPROGRAMMING OF FUNDS IF INDICATED; AND (3) IDENTIFICATION OF THE PROJECT"S NUTRITION PLANNING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE NEEDS. THE PROJECT HAS TAUGHT THAT PLANNED OUTPUTS SHOULD BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC AND THE PROJECTS SUCH AS THIS REQUIRE A MINIMUM OF CONTINUOUS STAFF DEVELOPMENT; THAT THE CAUSAL RELATION BETWEEN INPUTS AND OUTPUTS SHOULD BE REALISTIC; AND THAT PROJECT OBJECTIVES SHOULD ADHERE CLOSELY TO THE HOST GOVERNMENT"S FINANCIAL COMMITMENT.