Deadline: 28-Aug-20
The International Renaissance Foundation has announced a competition for projects “Local budget funds for harm reduction services”.
The aim is to support the initiatives of non-governmental organizations aimed at ensuring the development of harm reduction programs from local budgets in order to provide a full package of services to vulnerable groups and ensure their sustainable work.
A potential risk to the sustainability of Harm Reduction programs could be a shift in government priorities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences. During this period, in order to avoid even greater consequences, it is important to strengthen the public health system and the service delivery system for vulnerable groups, which include Harm Reduction programs.
Objectives
- To draw the attention of key partners at both national and local levels to the need to define and ensure the quality of services at the stage of transition to public funding;
- Facilitate the introduction of a system for assessing the quality of services, taking into account the needs of communities-beneficiaries of services and their own satisfaction with services (availability of services, availability, etc.);
- to give priority to the quality assessment system by both state institutions and non-governmental organizations (both independent research and service providers) and the communities themselves in the process of transition to public funding;
- Coordinate and plan further actions of all interested partners in the implementation of the service quality assessment system.
Funding Information
- The total budget of the contest – 2,351 499 USD
- A budget proye CTS – 40 0,000 USD
Areas of work (locally)
- creation of a mechanism for involving civil society representatives in the processes of planning and monitoring the use of funds (Health Departments and other fund managers at the local level), primarily those that will be allocated in accordance with the Law of Ukraine of 07.12.2017 adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine 2233-VIII “On Amendments to the Budget Code of Ukraine” to finance state public health programs and measures to combat epidemics and regional public health programs;
- active participation in the development or initiation of local programs with appropriate budgets, which will include measures aimed at strengthening the public health system at the regional level in general, and programs for prevention (harm reduction) and HIV treatment in particular;
- activities aimed at stimulating local CHCs to expand SMT programs, including at the primary level of medicine of all forms of ownership, in the framework of financing this service through the National Health Insurance Fund
- activities aimed at prioritizing public health issues to representatives of local authorities and the local community;
- involvement of civil society representatives in the processes of distribution of local budgets for health care. Control over the actual financing of the industry and individual articles. Analysis of the priorities of budget allocation in the field of health care
- monitoring the use of funds from local budgets and public examination of the rational use of funds for health care. Development of appropriate recommendations for their more rational use;
- advocacy to provide funding from local budgets for harm reduction programs (additional package of services that are not covered by centralized procurement). This will be possible as a result of public involvement in the planning and distribution of funding, and by monitoring the use of budgets;
- monitoring and analysis of public procurement by health care managers, primarily the procurement of HIV services through the electronic procurement system PROZORRO.
- identification and disclosure of facts of violation of tenders and relevant negative consequences;
- providing media support for initiatives, use of social media to disseminate information about the project, systematization and dissemination of experience in project implementation;
- providing technical support and cooperation with WHO and institutions on the basis of which regional CGDs have already been established or are planned to be established (participation in the process of planning, development and approval of the regulatory framework, including the implementation of plans for transition to local funding of HIV programs). service and harm reduction, etc.);
- ensuring, within the available resources, priority planning and allocation of funds from local budgets for additional harm reduction services, as complementary to the basic package of services that will be purchased centrally.
- Activities aimed at prioritizing key partners at the local level to the need to ensure the quality of services at the stage of transition to public funding;
- Facilitate at the local level the introduction of a system for assessing the quality of services (within the guaranteed and expanded package of services), which will be determined in the near future at the national level
- to give priority to the quality assessment system by both state institutions and non-governmental organizations (both independent research and service providers) and the communities themselves in local policies and procedures;
Expected Results
- mechanisms for transparent and accountable use of budget funds in the field of public health and harm reduction programs have been developed, agreed and applied;
- developed and applied the principles and methodology of effective allocation of resources for the implementation of measures for prevention and treatment of diseases that cause the greatest negative socio-demographic and economic impact in the region;
- an effective mechanism for planning, purchasing and providing public health services, including harm reduction services, has been introduced
- more rational use of local budgets for public health is ensured. This will provide better access to treatment for both the general population and members of vulnerable groups;
- SMT treatment programs have been expanded
- developed practices of social accountability of local authorities on the use of public funds for health care needs (public report on health care expenditures is published in the chosen way and is open and understandable to the community);
- the allocation of funds from the local budget to finance harm reduction programs (additional service package);
- developed and approved local programs that will include measures aimed at strengthening the public health system at the regional level in accordance with the methodology of the State Institution “Public Health Center” of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
- Introduction at the local level of a service quality assessment system (within the framework of the basic and extended package of services), which will be defined in the near future at the national level
- Ensuring that the quality assessment system is given priority by both government institutions and non-governmental organizations (both independent researchers and service providers) and the communities themselves in local policies and procedures (including relevant points in local HIV / AIDS and public health programs) I, and other activities aimed at forming appropriate priorities at the local level).
Participants
- Public organizations, charitable foundations, officially registered patient organizations working in the field of public health, who have experience in work and advocacy in the field of HIV service.
Requirements for the Project Proposal
- Organizations applying for the competition must describe previous experience in the field of public health, harm reduction programs; or in the field of local government policy making, monitoring and distribution of budget funds.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3fMzKE6