Baked into Our Work: Approaches for Sustainable Capacity Building in Kenya

Author(s): MEASURE Evaluation PIMA

Year: 2017

Abstract:

In Kenya, the government and stakeholders agreed on the importance of stronger monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and health information systems (HIS) in the health sector. To achieve that aim, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) created MEASURE Evaluation PIMA (MEval-PIMA), a research, evaluation, and capacity-building project, for a five-year period that began in 2012.

The expectation was that a more efficient and unified HIS, with effective M&E, would contribute to a systematic and rational use of data for managing programs and informing policies. To successfully take on this role, health teams required support and capacity building for organizational strengthening and dissemination and use of information at all levels. MEval-PIMA took an approach that capacity building was not separate from—but integral to—strengthening health systems for improved health outcomes.

The overarching strategic objective at the project’s inception was, therefore, to build sustainable M&E capacity for Kenyan health workers to use evidence-informed decision making to improve the effectiveness of the Kenyan health system. Capacity was to be built at the national and subnational levels and within each of the eight regions, covering stakeholders in counties, districts, facilities, and communities.