Preparing Sub-recipients for new round of grants 16.02.2018

UNOPS organised a workshop to keep sub-recipients up-to-date on grant requirements, processes and procedures, empower them to find solutions to challenges that may arise, and use lessons learned in the previous funding cycle to obtain even better results in 2018-2020.

UNOPS hosted an Orientation Workshop for Global Fund Sub-recipients on 29 and 30 January 2018. The workshop, which took place in Yangon and lasted for one and a half days, helped partners prepare for the new funding cycle (2018-2020). The participants comprised representatives from the national HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria programmes, as well as local and international NGOs that are implementing activities in Myanmar funded by the Global Fund. Myanmar sub-recipients of RAI2E – the Global Fund-supported programme that works to eliminate malaria in the Greater Mekong Region – were also among the participants.

The Global Fund has approved new and additional funding to end the HIV, TB and malaria epidemics in Myanmar. The new funding is for the period of 2018-2020 with UNOPS and Save the Children as the nominated Principal Recipients (PR). In its role as a PR for the Global Fund, UNOPS provides support to implementing entities develop their capacities in managing Global Fund grants. January’s workshop aimed to share information and timely updates on UNOPS and Global Fund requirements, processes and procedures as the grants for 2018-2020 are being rolled out. A central element of the workshop was to share and recommend best practices in programmatic and operational planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting. The workshop was also an excellent opportunity to look back on past implementation and share experiences and lessons learned. By discussing their experiences in programme implementation in Myanmar, the sub-recipients could identify areas in need of strengthening and work out appropriate solutions to challenges as a team.   

Among the topics on the workshop’s comprehensive agenda were an overview of the implementation of the 2018-2020 grants, discussions, and group work. UNOPS also organised separate sessions to address the specificities associated with procurement, and management of contracts, finance and risk. Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) took centre stage on the second day of the workshop. To make the workshop as relevant for the sub-recipients as possible, participants were divided into groups according to the field they work in, namely HIV, TB or malaria. The three working groups addressed topics such as reporting requirements, performance frameworks and definition of indicators, with inputs from UNOPS M&E officers. The workshop was concluded with a general discussion and a Q&A-session.