Monitoring and Evaluation of Health Programs

The art and science of improving health data for program and policy decisions
When health program managers and policymakers take a critical look at what should be done to improve their health programs, they require more than anecdotes to know where the problems are and what works. They need evidence. They need shrewd analysis. Futures Group gives them both. We have developed state-of-the-art monitoring and evaluation tools that connect the dots between seemingly unrelated pieces of data and uncover the solutions health professionals find essential. We partner with national governments, service delivery organizations, policymakers and civil society to fully understand their requirements to help design and execute health interventions. By offering technical assistance and building capacity, we help strengthen the data and information used to guide public health programs. We also provide global leadership in pioneering approaches to increasing the demand for and use of health data and information. We apply these approaches to areas such as HIV/AIDS, family planning and reproductive health, orphans and vulnerable children, and poverty and equity.

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 offerings:

m&e strategies In partnership with local and national community groups, such as an AIDS Council, Futures Group provides technical assistance to develop monitoring and evaluation strategies for health programs and to implement new strategies in areas such as HIV/AIDS, orphans and vulnerable children, and reproductive health. program evaluation In order to evaluate the effectiveness of health program interventions, we use comprehensive assessments, data triangulation, and public health evaluations.

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

This information can be used to obtain necessary services for children deemed to be in need. capacity building We work with local institutions to build their capacity to carry out monitoring and evaluation activities and to conduct local and regional trainings in areas such as monitoring and evaluation fundamentals, data quality assurance, and data use. We also work with universities and schools of public health to transfer knowledge to local faculty who carry out local capacity building courses. data quality assurance Futures Group designs, implements and provides technical assistance and training in data quality assurance approaches. An important element of our approach, pioneered in Tanzania, is a feedback from the data quality assessment to data quality improvement strategies.

data demand and use We have developed a set of innovative

approaches that we use to help health programs make the best use of data to identify health issues, monitor interventions and make mid-course corrections when necessary.

child status index

In collaboration with Duke University, Futures Group developed an easy-to-use tool for community workers who track the status of orphans and vulnerable children in several distinct domains.

Record of Results:
Completed a major assessment of the HIV sexual transmission prevention program in Nigeria. Developed a framework to use population, health, and environment data to advocate for strengthening family planning and food security linked to climate change. Designed a program to evaluate how well countries have repositioned their strategies for family planning. The program has been applied to several countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Assisted the National AIDS Commission in Rwanda to assess impacts of its five-year HIV/ AIDS national strategy and to create a new one. Completed a series of data quality audits in Tanzania.

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. 2nd Floor 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

Approach in Action: Tanzania

Sometimes information needs to be seen in more than one way to get the full picture. A case in point is the high rate of HIV in Iringa, Tanzania. Since the rate of infection in this region outpaces others, USAID wondered whether those at the highest risk were actually getting the services and information they needed. Futures Group partnered with local organizations in Tanzania to map rates of infection and prevention providers. We visited each HIV service provider, interviewing patients and health care workers about how far the reach of services extended. We mapped the services on a flat map and then converted that information onto a geographic information system, similar to a map in 3D. The maps that were created showed in more detail than ever before exactly where HIV prevention interventions were needed.

Using the Child Status Index Tool to monitor the welfare of vulnerable children
It gives the volunteers a tool and allows them to work through all of the different areas of a childs wellbeing. Previously, there wasnt the same structure and the same discipline and they may have judged a situation on what was obvious rather than looking at the data. It helps them think through and check that theyve considered all the different elements. -Field worker in an African country recounting her experience using the Child Status Index

Credit: 2008 Virginia Lamprecht, courtesy of Photoshare

With the right information, lives are saved

In 2007, Andrew Koleros, Futures Groups Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor to the National AIDS Control Commission of Rwanda first arrived in Rwanda. He heard questions about how well Rwandas HIV prevention program was working and whether limited resources were preventing new HIV infections. People had hunches, but there werent hard, reliable facts. Koleros set out to change that, with the support of the government, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and different arms of the United Nations, They implemented many activities aimed at increasing the evidence base for HIV prevention intervention in Rwanda, as part of the USAID-funded project called Measure Evaluation. Koleros worked with the AIDS commission to better understand the dynamics of the HIV epidemic in Rwanda. They mounted an evidence-based response supported by the findings from several research projects, including a study on the risk factors among men who have sex with men, and surveys of behaviors among female sex workers. Based on that work, Rwanda developed a new three-year national strategic plan on HIV and AIDS 2009-2012. Interventions are now better targeted and the data quality in Rwanda is better than before 2009, which has increased peoples confidence about using the information, Koleros says. They have been given the tools and the training to make good decisions.
2004 Ian Oliver/Kirk Friedrich/SFL/Grassroot Soccer, Courtesy of Photoshare.

Futures Group, the global health consulting firm, helps to protect and promote peoples well-being around the world. For 40 years, 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.