The 2015 Grant Management Solutions (GMS) annual Regional Partners’ Meeting was held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire in early December 2015 from the 7th to the 9th.
GMS is a project mandated to provide technical support to countries receiving grants from the Global Fund. This technical support is in the appropriate language, country specific, and immediately responsive to the needs of country coordinating mechanisms (CCMs), principal recipients (PRs) and sub recipients (SRs) of grants from the Global Fund with the aim of improved functioning of these grants. This aim is itself intended to yield better quality and more effective programs designed to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.
Advantech Managing Director Joseph Waruingi, Business Development Officer Ngengi Kamau and Business Analyst Oscar Otindo attended the meeting, joining nine Regional Partners (RPs) from around the world. The meeting was themed ‘Past, Present and Future’.
Day 1 focused on Regional Partner Global Fund related activities; reviews of each Regional Partner’s business and their marketing plan development experiences.
Day 2 was all about innovation. In 2015, Tier 2 Regional Partners were grouped by affinity, geographic proximity, organizational focus, and/or regional location with regard to Global Fund grantees. They agreed to meet regularly (either virtually or in person as feasible), to exchange knowledge, share expertise, learn new skills and collaborate creatively to produce an innovation before the end of 2014.
The Nairobi Pod, consisting of Advantech Consulting as well as Nairobi based GMS partners, had designed a Quality Data Collection and Enhancement at Community Level Tool (QADET). The concept has been tested and in 2016, we will be developing the business plan and presenting it for seed capital for funding support for the start up and field-testing of our product.
Day 3 saw the launch of the Peer-to-Peer Exchange System that will go live on 1st January, and more to come on this exciting new program next year.
Days 4, 5 and 6 were spent reviewing and training on the GMS Global Fund Principal Recipient Dashboard process.