The Technical Support Facility for West and Central Africa in partnership with UNAIDS RST and ASAP/World Bank, organized a much awaited training for 25 participants from Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and The Gambia on Strategic and Operational Planning in HIV and AIDS. The participants included both consultants and program mangers, with most of the program mangers coming from the various National AIDS Commissions or Councils.

The overall objective of the training was to create a platform for consultants and programme managers to gain knowledge and share experiences in developing National HIV and AIDS Strategic and Operational Plans that are results-oriented, evidence-based and well prioritized.

The training covered the following topics: Introduction to the Self Assessment Tool; Key elements and process in strategic planning; Overview of strategic planning; HIV epidemic analysis: Challenges, lessons, Tools and process; Response analysis: Methodology, challenges, lessons; Priority setting for strategic and operational Planning; Introduction to Results Based Management: Principles and key Elements; Development of a results framework; Operationalizing the Strategic Plan: Challenges and Barriers; Performance monitoring; Costing of an Operational Plan; Strategic planning process: road map and roles and responsibilities; and Management of technical support for strategic and operational planning: Sourcing, contracting, supporting and managing technical experts.

The four-day training, held at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) in Accra, proved to be a very strategic and well timed event as some of the participating countries, especially Ghana and Sierra Leone are at the stage of reviewing their National Strategic Framework/plan for the development of a new plan for the next 5 years.

An evaluation of the expectations and learning outcomes of the participants indicated that they had acquired new information very relevant to their work. All the topics treated met the expectations of the participants who would want the training to be sectioned to allow for a wider coverage of other consultants especially from Nigeria. Participants also indicated that the sessions met the workshop objectives and also matched their current needs for capacity development.

The participating countries shared their experiences and agreed to allow each country to be involved in the development of their strategic and operational plans to allow for sharing of experiences and building capacities in-country.

The discussions focused on how important it is for countries to adopt a result and evidenced-based approach to developing their plans for effective management of the HIV and AIDS epidemic in the region.

In conclusion, the 25 participants (Consultants and Programme Mangers) from the 5 countries expressed their appreciation to TSF-WCA, UNAIDS RST and ASAP for a well conducted training session; and also praised the competency of the facilitators. In closing, the UNAIDS country coordinator for Ghana, Dr Leopold Zekeng remarked that they will continue to foster strong relationships with the countries and collaborate with TST-WCA and ASAP to expand the training programme.