PartnersGF - 2004-08-19

Re. GF-related Management Information
Iyeme Efem
**********

"PEOPLE HAVE NOT SPENT TIME READING THE GF GUIDELINES AND THE ROLES OF THE DIFFERENT ARMS OF THE FUND"

My very brief contribution to Peters issue of "excellence in management information" and my subsequent comments are as follows:

I hope that Peter trusts the information source, or that his comments are as a result of country review exercises carried out over the period. To say that "the Global Fund has almost no feedback information" is too far reaching and might be termed "fallacy of unsound generalization".

Reviewing the GF guidelines, and the TOR of the LFAs will immediately show that systems are in place to not only ensure accountability in funds disbursement as Peter has noted, but also efficiency and result oriented implementation.

Briefly stating, the LFAs are there to ensure that required indicators are achieved before further quarterly (or bi-quarterly) disbursements are made. The quarterly reporting systems by the countries also ensures that those indicators are captured for the GF. Most of all, there are two monitoring systems in place, besides that of the LFAs. The monitoring and evaluation component is usually (might be different in some countries) contracted to an independent body within the country, with their own time table and independent workplan but derived from that of the implementing partners/subrecipients and government, as well as the monitoring undertaken by the CCM M&E group. I know that there are some countries where this could be a challenge but that is not enough to generalize. Some countries have had challenges with their LFAs while others have had excellent relationships and this has indeed reflected on their performance.

My participation at the Bangkok Partnership Forum revealed one thing among several. That people have not spent time reading the GF guidelines and the roles of the different arms of the Fund. It also revealed that people have their own expectations of what they want the GF to look like and how it should perform. Indeed there is a lot to learn and I believe that the Forum gives us that opportunity to bring them forward to the fund in a more organized way. The onus is on us to first know how the Fund works so we can know how best to improve on the system. Peter's comments would be ideal if it were more specific as to regions or countries where such information arose.

Iyeme Efem
Email: cefem@gte.net
or iefem@pci-gh.org