"Strengthening the capacity for country ownership" : end-of-project evaluation

(690-A-00-07-00104-00) on September 26, 2007, with a planned life of project of US$40 million through the PEPFAR. The goal of the Pact program, Community Rapid and Effective Action Combating HIV/AIDS (REACH) Namibia program was to scale up and sustain a comprehensive response to HIV/AIDS services (including prevention, care, and support for orphans and vulnerable children) through Namibian and international sub-grantees. The program was guided by six key program objectives through October 2010. In November 2010, following a mid-term evaluation, USAID entered into a modification of assistance agreement with Pact Inc. to realign its program to the Government of Namibia and PEPFAR phase II priorities. The emphasis shifted from a focus on the emergency scale-up approach of PEPFAR I to the Pact "Strengthening the Capacity for Country Ownership (SCCO)" programmatic themes of country ownership, long-term sustainability, and systems strengthening. This end-of-project report evaluates the final 19 months of the five year project and distinguishes accomplishment in this timeframe from previous accomplishments and activities. The focus of the report is on evaluating Pacts effectiveness towards strengthening the four directorates of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare (MGECW) and six USAID-selected civil service organizations (CSOs). This report continues the USAID evaluation procedure whose last major effort was a mid-term evaluation report (January 2011). The evaluators conclude that Pact fulfilled all of its contractual obligations at a standard that is defined as satisfactory (i.e., fulfilling its contractual obligations under the award) that is supported by primary collection of evidence via document review and key informant interviews. This evaluation also identifies strengths and weaknesses as reported by both Pact advisors and Ministry and CSO partners. (Excerpt)