Developing, implementing, monitoring and evaluation of national NTD programmes is complex and challenging. The ENVISION project is simplifying things

Developing, implementing, monitoring and evaluation of national NTD programmes is complex and challenging for multiple reasons. The NTD arena incorporates 100% of low income countries, multiple stakeholders, multiple languages and a diverse range of physical and human variables. Since 2011, the USAID funded ENVISION (http://www.ntdenvision.org/) project has been working to develop global guidelines and tools in line with WHO guidelines to be utilized across all USAID-supported projects working to control/eliminate NTDs.  The underlying aim is to harmonise and improve consistency of reporting, i.e. all country programmes use the same tools and record the same information sets.  The result will be country programmes producing one report for all donors, thereby reducing their administration burden.

Following consultation with Ministries of Health (MoH), in-country partners and donors, WHO, and global partners, ENVISION has developed three extremely valuable tools: Integrated NTD database; Data Quality Assessment (DQA); and Tool for Integrated Planning and Costing (TIPAC). SCI, having assisted in the testing of these tools and used them where our programmes incorporate USAID funding, has invested in training all SCI programme managers to enable them to support staff in the countries where we work (which do not overlap with the ENVISION programme) to roll-out and use these three tools.  SCI has and will be providing funding for additional training to equip staff in country with the knowledge and skills to customize the tools to their country context, utilize the database, and implement DQA to review the quality of their NTD data and national reporting system.  SCI sees these tools as offering cost-effective solutions to complex and often expensive elements of running a successful national NTD programme. SCI will be providing ongoing support to national NTD programs during 2015 to build their capacity to utilize these tools.

What are the tools?

Integrated NTD database: this tool facilitates the data entry, analysis, storage, reporting and feedback for national NTD programme needs. The generic database is tailored to each country’s context and data management requirements. The database aims to: improve transparency and access to information; strengthen coordination between donor funded NTD projects, drug donation programmes, MoHs and WHO; support planning in countries; increase capacity to provide timely support to countries; facilitate data analysis through enhanced quality control capabilities; and improve allocation of resources.

Data Quality Assessment (DQA): DQA comprises of a protocol and a tool for use by national NTD programmes to evaluate the quality of reported data and data management systems in order to improve data collection and reporting for NTDs. The purpose of this DQA is to validate the reported achievements within the monitoring and reporting system, as well as to identify areas that need strengthening.

TIPAC: this Microsoft Excel based tool helps users accurately estimate the costs and funding gaps of public health programmes. The NTD TIPAC can be used in conjunction with existing national NTD strategic plans and budgets in order to effectively plan and coordinate future programme resources. The TIPAC is not a substitute for the strategic process of developing a national plan of action or program budget. However, the tool should strongly align with these documents and can help with resource planning and revising a national plan to meet resource constraints.