Central to the UNDP capacity development strategy is a strong focus on strengthening systems for health, in particular the following 5 functional capacities:
These respond to the minimum requirements of the Global Fund, but are also tailored to meet the requirements of the national disease programmes and donor grants. The entry point for planning the development of the functional capacities is commonly carried out during the concept note development and/or the grant making stage. The scope is always broadened to include health programmes and national disease responses, rather than just focusing on the Global Fund grant. This provides the opportunity to apply greater integration between the three diseases and identify potential synergies with broader public health programmes. Strengthening systems for health helps to institutionalize the reforms and gain a more sustainable return on the investment.
Strengthening functional capacities and systems for health usually requires;
- a clear vision and leadership;
- clarification of roles and responsibilities of organizations and individuals
- the development of manuals, SOPs and guidance;
- prioritizing capacity development actions; and
- developing, implementing and monitoring a Capacity Development Plan.
UNDP’s role is to help facilitate the process, make tools and guidance available to the stakeholders and to support the implementation and monitoring of the Capacity Development Plan. Each of the stages of the process of capacity development is described in the UNDP Global Fund Capacity Development Toolkit, together with useful resources and templates to support the process.
