Project assistance completion report : CAFS family planning and training support II project (CAFS II)

CAFS made considerable progress toward the project goal of strengthening its training capacity. It developed new and updated old courses (including development of trainer and participant manuals and supplementary training materials); expanded its reach into francophone Africa (by the PACD, 34 of CAFS" 79 courses were presented in this region, vs. 9 of 57 during the period 1981-89); trained 1,077 family planning professionals in anglophone and francophone regions; initiated an evaluation system to determine the impact of its training programs; and upgraded its course fee structure to cover 50% of the direct costs of training. While progress was made in CAFS" organizational development, and in prospects for its continued institutional viability, the pace was slower than envisioned. As a result, a follow-on project, CAFS-III, has been designed to assist in attainment of these institutional goals. The following lessons have been learned. (1) Indigenous family planning professionals are increasingly demanding better quality services that meet their training needs in rapidly changing management and service provision environments. CAFS needs to be more responsive to customer needs and more competitive. (2) CAFS, historically staffed by training professionals, did not have the managerial expertise or systems needed to sustain institutional improvements. (3) If true sustainability lies in indigenous peoples addressing their own needs, organizations such as CAFS must be seen as legitimate partners and able to compete directly for USAID and other donor funding.