Improving Health through Advocacy, Research, and Evaluation in Mozambique

Recognized Technical Support Provider to Stakeholders: From the Community to the National Government
Futures Group has been providing technical assistance to key stakeholders in Mozambique since the mid-1990s. PREDICTION: Futures Group has applied multiple economic and demographic modelling and forecasting tools to help decision makers better plan, fund and implement national and sub-national HIV and family planning programs. INSIGHT: Under MEASURE Evaluation, Futures Group leads an operations research project on an mHealth approach to searching for defaulted HIV patients, enabling program implementers to better implement the activity. PARTNERSHIP: Under the Health Policy Project (HPP), Futures Group supports community-based organizations (CBOs) integration of gender and gender-based violence into their current HIV response.

Program Areas
population and family planning sexual and reproductive health maternal and child health hiv and aids infectious diseases gender poverty and equity

Futures Group Past Experience in Mozambique:

R  APID projection of Mozambique population growth provided evidence for the countrys rst population policy in 1998. RAPID, which stands for Resources for the Awareness of Population Impacts on Development, is a computer model that projects the social and economic consequences of rapid population growth for such sectors as labor, education, health, urbanization and agriculture. U  nder the POLICY Project (1998-2005), Futures Group facilitated the formation and implementation of the Multi-Sectoral Technical Group, a semi-autonomous body charged with analyzing HIV sentinel surveillance data, projecting the evolution and impact of HIV, and advising government and private sector on use of HIV statistics
Photo by Eric Miller/The World Bank

and projects. The formation of this group is cited as a best practice in PEPFARs rst annual report. U  nder the POLICY Project, Futures supported application of the Resource Needs Module of GOALS to estimate resource requirements of the national plan to combat HIV and AIDS. The Health Policy Initiative (2005-2010) provided technical input to government initiative like HIV workplace policies and revised labor laws, and facilitated the production of HIV sentinel surveillance reports and updated HIV impact projections. Futures also facilitated development of and training in a manual for including HIV and AIDS in collective bargaining for umbrella labor union, CONSILMO.

Technical Services
policy and advocacy research and strategic information  health markets and private sector engagement modeling and economic analysis health systems strengthening strategic consulting program management

Photo by Steve Evans

Futures Group One Thomas Circle, NW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20005 U.S.A. tel 202.775.9680 fax 202.775.9694 Futures Group Europe, Ltd. Turnberry House 100 Bunhill Row London, EC1Y 8ND U.K. tel +44(0) 20 7250 0556 fax +44(0) 20 7336 8742 Futures Group India, Pvt., Ltd. DLF Building No. 10-B, 5th Floor DLF Cyber City, Phase-II Gurgaon - 122002 (Haryana) India tel 91.124.4702000 fax 91.124.4702042 www.futuresgroup.com

Record of Results:
Provided evidence for Mozambiques rst population policy Costed the entire 2014-2019 Health Sector Strategic Plan and HIV/AIDS Acceleration Plan Mainsteamed gender and GBV programming in over 20 community based organizations Facilitated start and implementation of the Multi-Sectoral Technical Group, cited as PEPFAR best practice Published Formative Assessment of a Future mHealth Site in Nhamatanda, Mozambique to provide implementers with important information to assist them in rolling out an mHealth application

Futures Group in Mozambique Today

The Health Policy Project is collaborating with the FHI 360 Capable Partners Program (CAP) to mainstream gender into the capacity-building guidance it provides to local partner organizations. The project also strengthens the capacity of select CAP-supported organizations to integrate gender and GBV into their existing HIV programs and to strengthen their use of data to design, monitor, and evaluate programs. The Health Policy Project provided technical assistance to the Ministry of Health for costing and capacity building related to development of the new HIV Acceleration Plan (HAP), the Health Sector Strategic Plan (PESS), and the Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission (EMTCT) Plan. The project also supported prioritization and scenario-building related to the PESS costs (including HAP), with a view at aligning resource needs to the resources available from the countrys Medium-term Expenditure Framework. These costed plans have also been used to initiate strategic discussions, planning, and decision making that will have a signicant impact on program implementation, costs, and service delivery. Under MEASURE Evaluation, Futures Group is studying FHI 360s Community Care Program (PCC) to understand the pros and cons of integrating home based care (HBC) for people living with HIV/AIDS and support for vulnerable children into the scope of work of a single community volunteer; the benets and challenges of integration and its utility to beneciary groups and stakeholders; and how services received by vulnerable children vary with the phase of illness of the HBC client, the presence of HBC clients in the household, and the experience level of community volunteers. It is a descriptive, cross-sectional, mixed methods study that includes primary and secondary data collection at multiple project levels in the Central Region of Mozambique Under MEASURE Evaluation, Futures Group is also conducting operational research around a pilot which is using mobile phones to improve communication between the clinics tasked with generating the list of loss to follow up (LTFU) ART patients and volunteers to increase the speed with which they are returned to treatment after follow up within the community. With this new design, Futures Group is conducting a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the pilot and collecting cost data which will assist implementing partners, USAID and the Government of Mozambique decide on how to move forward with this initiative. The Health Policy Project supports country-owned advocacy efforts to increase government leaders awareness of and commitment to investing in family planning programs and services. The project: Works with the government to apply the RAPID model to demonstrate the potential benets of investing in family planning programs and services. Trains policy champions to use the results of RAPID analyses for evidence-based advocacy. Builds local capacity to apply and update the RAPID model in the future.

Working with the Mozambique Government to Improve Health Outcomes

With only three doctors per 100,000 people, Mozambiques health infrastructure is, by this measure, among the poorest in the world. Whats more, systems for tracking and retaining staff are weak, and frontline health providers are often poorly trained, and have limited management skills. Despite these dismal health indicators, Futures Group and partners are working together with the Mozambique National Government to strengthen the capacity of its public health system, and ensure quality basic health services for its citizens. Futures Group is building national capacity and increasing country ownership in Mozambique through costing and resource allocation with the USAID-funded Health Policy Project. In partnership with the National Directorate of Medical Care (Direco Nacional de Assistncia Mdica, DNAM) within the Mozambique Ministry of Health, the Health Policy Project nalized the costing of the HIV Acceleration Plan (HAP) for 2013-2015. The project worked with policymakers and program managers to gather, validate, analyze and present nancial data to help them more accurately predict the cost and impact of their HIV programs and interventions. In a time of limited development nancing, competing priorities, and demand for value for money, it is critical that partner governments and stakeholders have the information and technical assistance they need to make smart, evidence-based policy and programming decisions.
Photo by Steve Evans

Futures Group, the global health consulting rm, helps to protect and promote peoples well-being around the world. Futures Group has created lasting solutions to some of the most pressing public health challenges facing nations. For more information, please visit www.futuresgroup.com, www.facebook.com/FuturesGroup, and www.twitter.com/FuturesGroupGbl.