Assessing capacity building interventions of indigenous organisations staff on sustainability of HIV/AIDs supported programmes in east Central Uganda.

Abstract

The study assessed capacity building interventions of indigenous organizations staff on Sustainability of HIV/AIDS child supported programmes in East Central Uganda. The study focused on the nine districts of the East central region in Uganda where the USAID funded Strengthening TB and HIV&AIDS responses (STAR-EC) project supported 13 indigenous organizations to deliver comprehensive services for HIV&AIDS in their respective communities. The purpose of the study therefore was to assess capacity building interventions of indigenous organization on sustainability of the Child supported HIV&AIDS services in East central Uganda (Iganga, Bugiri, Kamuli, Kaliro, Namutumba, Namayingo, Mayuge, Buyende). The specific objectives assessed included; Assessing technical, Organizational and Institutional, collaboration and linkages capacity of indigenous organizations on sustainability of HIV child supported interventions in East Central Uganda. The study was conducted using a cross-sectional descriptive study which incorporated both qualitative and quantitative methods. The design supported triangulation of information collected to assess capacity building Interventions on sustainability of HIV child supported programmes. The data was collected using questionnaires and key informant interviews. The analysis was done using the univariate, bivariate and multivariate measures. Key themes were also derived from the key informant interview qualitative data and triangulated with the quantitative data.

The study established that Training and continuous mentorship of staff and community resource persons in Comprehensive HIV and AIDS such as HIV counseling & testing (HCT); training in care and treatment and in guidance & counseling; Livelihood and Educational were likely to boost technical skills in the implementation of HIV and AIDS services at the community level in the study area hence sustainability. Joint Planning of HIV child supported services with community members was also identified as a key factor in sustaining technical capacity of indigenous organizations to deliver child supported HIV services .

Building capacity of indigenous organizations in organizational development such as providing training, mentorship and coaching on developing strategic plans with clear Mission statement, core values, strategic plans, organizational policies and guidelines such as Human resource, finance and operational policies and the presence of well remunerated personnel and community resource persons are very critical in the sustainability of Child supported HIV services by the community. With regard to Institutional capacity, the findings indicated that community involvement in the design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation are all critical in sustaining capacity of indigenous organization to deliver comprehensive services for HIV&AIDS, working with the community resource persons(linkage facilitators) right from the beginning and establishing a clear referrals mechanism for tracking children referred to obtain feedback were also cited as very critical in ensuring Children access services from other service providers.

Basing on the findings the study concluded that Technical, organizational and Institutional capacity of indigenous organizations have a strong bearing on sustainability of Child supported HIV services by indigenous organizations hence the need for development partners to invest in building capacity of these indigenous organizations .