An extended work meeting was held on September 19-22 in Kyiv (Ukraine) targeting Project Coordinators in the area of counteracting HIV epidemic within the frame of the American Red Cross “Regional Health Initiative in Eurasia” Program (hereafter, RHI). The RHI embraces a few projects in HIV prevention and care & support to people affected by HIV epidemic, which are implemented in 13 regional branches of the RC/RC in 5 countries (Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Belarus).

It was the first time in the history of the Program’s implementation when 23 people met to address urgent issues; they were Project and National (Country) Coordinators, IFRC/RC staff, and representatives of the AmRC (financial donor).

The Technical Support Group of the Russian Red Cross Resource Center, which is hosted by Irkutsk Regional branch of the RRC, developed an agenda and other documents for the meeting.   

Prerequisites for conducting extended work meeting were identified at the previous work meeting held in April 2012 in Kyiv. The problem areas were identified as follows then: 

-lack of unified standards to provide project services, 

-lack of unified standards to develop M&E project/Program systems  

-M&E problems (rearrangement of reporting, correctness of completing QPRs).

The extended work meeting was devoted to the development of unified standards to provide services to people affected by HIV epidemic and HIV prevention amongst the general public and the rearrangement of project management systems, monitoring and evaluation of activities and achieved results. 

Goal of the extended work meeting: build capacity of NS staff (project coordinators) in the area of program management, monitoring and evaluation.   

Objectives of the extended work meeting:

1) Develop project management and M&E systems the way, so they could meet a new logframe and requirements of the IFRC/RC and the AmRC 

2) Provide extra information, educate how to develop M&E plans, records keeping and reporting forms, and complete QPRs. 

The extended work meeting began with the NSs’ making presentations about their activities, achieved results, and lessons learned. The participants identified this unit as one of the most useful, which enabled to share experience and develop new project key areas. 

New RHI logframe was presented at the work meeting, draft versions of the “Menu and Description of Services” and “Box of Indicators” were submitted. Besides, the RFA Process and Small Grants Mechanism: Manual and Toolkit designed within the RHI Program was presented to the participants. The document was made by the AmRC experts with the support of the RRC RC Technical Support Group. 

A large unit of the extended work meeting was devoted to the issues of monitoring and evaluation. The logframe indicators were discussed thoroughly. The participants were recommended to fine-tune their monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plans. They had some practice in making M&E plans using one indicator as an example. At the end of the fourth day of the work meeting, an introductory session was conducted, which was aimed at developing records-keeping and reporting forms and discussing the reporting lines based on “Scale up of Care and Support to People Living with HIV in Irkutsk”, which has been implemented by Irkutsk regional branch of the RRC and financed by the American Red Cross since 2003.

Ramine Bahrambegi, Health Advisor of the AmRC, conducted a long-expected session, which was concerned with the analysis of the QPR format. The main goal was to improve the QPR format, so it could be more representative and easy to complete. Recommendations regarding QPRs were given, and it was decided that all regions would make QPRs based on a new format starting from next quarter (IV quarter of 2012).

The participants received new information, got acquainted with each other, shared ideas and took an active part in four-day-sessions. It was a great opportunity to work together and take decisions. Everybody said they were satisfied with the results of the work meeting and hoped to have them on a regular basis.   

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Note.

The Resource Center of the Russian Red Cross, created in 2011, contributes a lot to the development and support of the regional projects. Technical Support Group of the Russian Red Cross (Irkutsk) is in charge of training and counseling staff and volunteers of regional branches on the issues of prevention, counseling and providing support to people affected by HIV epidemic, planning, monitoring, evaluation, and fundraising.

Prepared by:

Anastasiya Latyshenko   

M&E Advisor

Technical Support Group

Resource Center

Russian Red Cross (Irkutsk)

e-mail: lanastasiya1@yandex.ru