Certification strategy improves coordination of district HIV/AIDS response – the zambian experience

Purpose: The Republic of Zambia is committed to a multi-sectoral HIV/AIDS response. To strengthen this response, the USAID-funded Support to the HIV/AIDS Response in Zambia (SHARe) II project partnered with the National HIV/AIDS/STI/TB Council (NAC) to pilot a management certification program with District AIDS Task Forces (DATFs) to see if certification can improve their ability to effectively coordinate and manage district-level work.

Methods: In 2011, SHARe II, NAC, and DATF representatives created 28 management standards in eight categories: governance/leadership; response coordination; administrative, financial, human resource, and performance management; mainstreaming cross-cutting issues; and, monitoring and evaluation. Fifteen of Zambia's 72 DATFs were selected to participate in the pilot. They were oriented in March, 2012; initial assessments were then conducted and improvement plans developed. SHARe II and NAC provided technical support and peer review platforms to the pilot DATFs to address identified performance gaps. In February, 2013, independent assessors will conduct a final assessment for each DATF to determine eligibility for certification.

Results: At baseline, only three DATFs met even 25% of performance standards. By August, 2012, eight DATFs had reached that level. Given the technical assistance provided subsequently, at least 75% of the DATFs are expected to demonstrate improved capacity. To achieve certification, a DATF must meet at least 70% of the standards.

Recommendations: Management certification is a standardized mechanism that measures, incentivizes and supports DATFs to improve coordination and management of the HIV/AIDS response. Certification could be adopted by other decentralized structures to improve performance.