UNOPS-PR held a one-day training on financial capacity building in Myin Gyan (27 August). Its aim was to support and strengthen the functional capacity of SRs, especially local NGOs, to maximize grant effectiveness and efficiency. The training’s focus was on strengthening skills and processes related to finance and programme management through coaching, mentoring and training. It included sessions on different areas of internal control: why it is important; human resources management; inventory and asset management; procurement and purchasing management; monitoring and evaluation; record management; internal versus external audit; and audit dos and don’ts.
Khin Nyein Thit, UNOPS-PR Capacity Building Officer, explained why these trainings are carried out. “The training aims to build the financial management capacity of local partners. It highlights the requirements of the financial processes, and the related risks and regulations. Participants’ feedback is very important for improving future trainings. We have seen practical results from this kind of training. In 2016, one of our local NGO partners, the Myanmar Health Assistant Association (MHAA), achieved zero audit observations, and in 2015, the Myanmar Council of Churches (MCC), achieved zero audit observations,” she said, highlighting previous achievements.
The training was well received by over 20 participants who are involved in the day-to-day implementation of Pyi Gyi Khin’s activities with Global Fund support. They included finance and field staff, finance manager, area manager, area officer and centre officers from Yangon, Myingyan, Shwebo, Pakokku, Aunglan, Minbu, Kalay, Pyinmana, Katha and Magway.
The training is highly interactive, and participants got the chance to exchange their experiences from the various townships through peer-to-peer learning and enriching discussions in group work. Through these, they were able to collectively identify solutions to overcome challenges.
During the training, some participants commented, “Understanding audit points and requirements makes our life much easier. Previously, we were just fulfilling the processes without knowing what constitutes internal control and why it is important; now we know it is not enough only to check just the amount in an invoice, but also that it is reasonable. We could have benefited from this kind of training earlier.”
Participants were very appreciative of the training and provided very interesting feedback, including: “The training is very relevant for us, as most of us do not have a financial background, but financial management and oversight is part of our responsibility in charge of KPSC. We learn a lot about international financial management standards as we are a local NGO, and we learn what we cannot learn on our own as we can get clarification on the spot.”
Reflecting on their own work and the challenges they face, some participants suggested more time be allocated to this kind of training. They would like to conduct multiplier trainings back at their own duty stations for their respective teams.
The training is one of a series on capacity building provided by UNOPS-PR for its local partners implementing the Global Fund grants.
After the training, participants made a strong commitment to more efficient management with the support of their respective teams, towards delivering better quality healthcare services for all patients.
