Objective:

Provision of quality technical support for the strategic planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of efforts in support of national AIDS programs and provision of capacity development services in the Western and Central Africa (WCA) Region.

Content:

The Technical Support Facilities (TSF) were established by UNAIDS in 2005 to improve access to timely, high quality short- and longer-term consultants to support scaling up of national HIV and AIDS responses. TSF assist in the professional development of national and regional consultants and provides technical expertise on priority thematic areas such as gender, work with key populations (men who have sex with men, drug users, sex workers) and for priority interventions such as voluntary male circumcision and EMTCT (Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission).

A Technical Assistance Fund (TAF) has been established to ensure that country and regional partners in the WCA region, who cannot afford to pay for short and longer-term technical support, receive the support they require through the TSF for WCA.

On request the TSF offers its services to national governments, CCMs, Principal Recipients, Sub Recipients, AIDS councils, civil society partners and UN partners. Technical support accessed through the TSFs is used for a range of purposes, including designing programs and solving problems in the areas of strategic and operational planning, seeking resources from the Global Fund and other donors, grant implementation, institutional development, resource mobilization and tracking, M&E and program management. The TSF works hand in hand with its clients on all aspects of an assignment in order to develop tailored solutions. They support clients to identify their needs and to develop precise Terms of Reference and then provide a short-list of experienced, quality-assured consultants from which country partners select the support they require.

Between 03/2014 and 03/2018 the TSF WCA was managed by the consortium Health Focus/ ICI Santé/ RAF. It covered 25 West and Central African countries and provided a minimum of 3000 men days of quality assured, short term consultant expertise per year.

Between 01/2017 and 03/2018, the consortium Health Focus/ ICI Santé/ RAF provided interim support to the Regional Support Team Eastern and Southern Africa (RST ESA) with contracting of assignments for the Eastern and Southern Africa Region.

• Management, monitoring and quality assurance of TS services;
• Recruiting nationally- and regionally-based expert consultants (to as great an extent as possible) as well as international experts for TS assignments;
• Maintaining comprehensive database of relevant consultants and institutions;
• Providing high quality financial and human resource management;
• Contract management;
• Development and delivery of capacity development interventions, particularly for national and regional expert consultants on management and implementation issues;
• Strengthening the implementation of national programs, in particular those supported by the Global Fund;
• Establishing and maintaining strong and effective partnerships at the country level across the region, with governments, UN, civil society and other relevant organizations and institutions;
• Facilitating South-South Exchange.