Development of a training programme on health systems strengthening for the Global Fund Secretariat's Country Teams

The Global Fund

Global

Health Workforces; HR Training; HR Training

Under the 2012-2016 strategy, the Global Fund adopted the New Funding Model which included active engagement of Secretariat staff in programme development for grant applications, including the development of health systems strengthening (HSS) grants. The quality of grant requests for HSS was seen as a critical factor for the overall success of Global Fund support for HSS. Because of their new role in programme development, the Global Fund commissioned the development of modular on-line staff training programmes in HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and HSS. Although a common e-learning platform was still under development, hera was commissioned to generate contents in the form of sets of PowerPoint slides and narrative text for nine training modules on HSS.

A team of two public health and an adult education specialist mobilised by hera developed nine interactive training modules on the following themes:
- Health systems and health system strengthening in the context of the Global Fund
- National health sector strategies and national HIV, TB and malaria strategies as entry points for developing HSS funding requests
- Health system performance assessment to inform crosscutting funding requests
- Health systems building blocks
- Interactions between health systems strengthening and community systems strengthening
- Investments in HSS for improved reproductive, maternal, new-born and child health
- Health systems strengthening, human rights and gender equality
- Monitoring and evaluating HSS programmes
- Overview of HSS international global health landscape and partnership mechanisms
Under the guidance of Global Fund staff, interactive elements of the modules were later removed and only sets of slides and narrative text was submitted to the Global Fund.