Technical Approach to and Experiences from Strengthening National Monitoring and Evaluation System for Most Vulnerable Children Program in Tanzania Prisca Mgomberi 1, Eliwanzita Mtebe 2, Philbert Kawemama 2, Odek WO 1 Mari Hickmann 1 International Conference on Social Protection December 15-17,2014: Arusha Tanzania

Background - Tanzania  Total population -45 million  Estimated HIV prevalence is 5.1% -adults age are HIV- positive  71 per cent of children estimated to suffer 2 or more severe deprivation of basic needs  Children’s vulnerability is caused by social and economic factors and the HIV epidemic

National responses to MVC problem  In 2012,the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare developed the second National Coasted Plan of Action (NCPA II) for MVC  NCPA II guides implementation of interventions designed to enhance protection, care and support for MVC  NCPA II was launched in February 2013  NCPA II need a robust coordinated M&E system to ensure availability and use of quality data for decision-making purposes

Background – MEASURE Evaluation  Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to improve monitoring and evaluation in population, health and nutrition.  Operational in Tanzania since  Supports M&E system strengthening and capacity building in health and social welfare programs.  Started supporting to strengthen national M&E system for most vulnerable children (MVC) interventions in 2010.

Objectives and Approach  Objectives  To improve national -level M&E system for most vulnerable children  Enhance M&E related capacity  Approach  Assessment and information gathering  Coordination and stakeholders engagement  Capacity building

Assessment and development of national M&E System strengthening plan  Used 12 components assessment tool  Originally designed to assess HIV and AIDS M&E system  Has performance goal and performance elements  Map all aspects of the HIV M&E system to the 12 components  Adapted the tool to assess most vulnerable children M&E system A system is a group of interacting, interrelated, and interdependent components forming a complex whole (Senge, 1990)

National-MVC M&E system strengthening  Approach  Assessment and information gathering  The assessments conducted included:  National MVC DMS & ICT capacity assessment s  National and sub-national MVC M&E systems assessment using the 12 Components of a Functional M&E System Framework  Goal: Gather information to inform interventions  Collect baseline information to monitor progress  Coordination and stakeholders engagement  Goal: to support DSW to coordinate M&E and align M&E with national MVC plans  Capacity building  Goal: strong DSW M&E units that can manage the M&E systems independently

The assessment process ……  Divided the process into four phases  Phase 1: Pre- workshop phase- Internal review of the assessment tool and : Selection of participants  Phase 2 :Assessment workshop  Phase 3: Finalization of the work -plan  Phase 4: Costing

How we used the 12 components assessment tool?  Presentations of workshop objectives  Presentation-overview of the current national MVC M&E system  Presentation -characteristics of a functional M&E system  Introduction to M&E assessment process and tool  Orientation on the tool  Group work and plenary discussion of group findings and recommendations  Group submission of final tool and discussion notes and analysis of findings  Presentation of the assessment results and action plans

The workshop proceedings  Participants divided into 4 groups  Group 1-DSW head office and line Ministries  Group 2-districts councils/LGAs  Group 3 - development partners (UNICEF, PEPFER and USAID)  Group 4- representatives of implementing organizations  Each group assessed three components  Identified strengths and weakness and  List down proposed actions for each component and prioritized the action plan.  Feedback to plenary summarizing the strength, weaknesses and proposed action points.

APPLYING THE 12C FRAMEWORK Example applications

Results and key actions

Key results and actions Gaps  There existed a structure to support M&E for MVC, but could not support a robust M&E system  Lack of M&E human capacity to fulfill current responsibilities and  Some M&E trainings is occurring, but there is need to coordinate, strengthen and expand  Partial commitment to M&E for MVC Proposed actions  Review data flow structure and refine roles and responsibilities  Conduct M&E capacity assessment and develop capacity building plan  Improve content of M&E trainings/develop national MVC M&E training materials  Improve national coordination through M&E TWG with a broader stakeholders participation and improve LGA mechanisms

Key results and action ……….. Gaps  No standardization or coordination of M&E trainings  Some coordination exists, but need to review and strengthen national and LGA levels:  National MVC M&E Plan exists, but need to be reviewed and aligned with NCPA II  Survey and research related to MVC were being conducted, but were not sufficiently planned and coordinated Proposed actions  Disseminate and train on new M&E plan  Create first M&E work plan and include cost estimates  Improve integration of M&E into decision- making and planning processes  Strengthen supporting documents, standard operating procedures (SOPs), etc.  Advocate for inclusion of MVC in future national surveys and plan and coordinate additional MVC related surveys

Key results and actions Gaps  A data management system (DMS) exists, but is not functioning at full capacity  There is some supportive supervision occurring, but is not uniform  There is some research related to MVC carried out but the research activities are not coordinated by DSW  Existing data is useful for answering key questions, but there is lack of better understanding of information needs at all levels Proposed actions  Review the existing DMS  Develop supportive supervision guidelines and tools and data auditing protocols  DSW to plan, coordinate, finance and disseminate evaluation and research related to MVC  Improve routine data analysis, sharing and use, and plan joint data review meetings

What have we done so far?  The gaps identified from each of the 12 components served as a basis for the development of a costed multi-sector and multiyear M&E system strengthening operational plan.  The plan continues to serve as the blueprint for all M&E system strengthening activities within the DSW  DSW is using the plan to advocate for funds from within the government and among various donors  Started implementing activities identified in the plan  DSW M&E focal officer leading the implementation process of the plan  M&E TWG strengthened to support the MVC M&E system strengthening process and actively involved in  Finalization of the M&E system strengthening plan development process  Development of national MVC M&E plan (indicators and data collection tools)

The national MVC M&E plan and Social protection  M&E plan has indicators of different social protection interventions:  Household economic strengthening- cash transfers  EDC  Primary health care  Education  Child protection  Psychosocial care and support (PSS)  Shelter

The national MVC M&E plan and Social protection  Data collection and data flow  MVC data flow  Data flow from TASAF  Child protection data collection and flow  Included in MVC data collection tools basic information from all strategic of objectives of NCPA II

Challenges  Lack of adequate funds to implement activities identified in the plan  Lack of adequate capacity of DSW M&E focal officer and members of TWG limits implementation of the plan  The DSW does not have a dedicated M&E unit, posing for follow up of agreed actions  High expectation from the DSW that the partner supported development of the plan to fund its implementation  Different MIS which are not interoperable  TASAF – PSSN MIS system  Child protection MIS – CPMIS  MVC- DHIS2

Conclusion  Key points to note  12 components are not 12 implementation steps  Not implemented sequentially  All are important for the national M&E system to function effectively  We can not do everything at once ; prioritize and phase-in over time  If all activities identified in the plan are implemented, then MVC M&E system will be strong, the program data will be of high quality and useful for decision -making processes and ultimately leading to improvements in the quality of life of MVC and their households as well as communities caring for MVC.

Asanteni

The research presented here has been supported by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the terms of MEASURE Evaluation cooperative agreement GHA-A Views expressed are not necessarily those of PEPFAR, USAID or the United States government. MEASURE Evaluation is implemented by the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partnership with Futures Group, ICF International, John Snow, Inc., Management Sciences for Health, and Tulane University.