Building Capacity in Information Management for HIV and AIDS Programs - A Compendium of Tools

"Local capacity to manage HIS and M&E functions is essential, so that countries can produce accurate, timely, and complete data to plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate program activities."

Designed to build the capacity of HIV programmes in information management - specifically, HIV programmes' health information systems (HIS) and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems - this compendium is a guide to nearly 50 tools and other development-oriented materials, such as training curricula and web-based toolkits. Produced by MEASURE Evaluation, it was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The compendium provides access to free, readily available resources for HIV and AIDS programmes in developing countries, supporting USAID's goal of an AIDS-free generation and PEPFAR's effort to achieve the global 90-90-90 goals: 90 percent of people with HIV diagnosed, 90 percent of those diagnosed on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 90 percent of those on ART virally suppressed by 2020.

The compendium can help users select materials that will best address their goals, needs, and priorities in information management for HIV programmes and services while building management capacity in this area. It gathers tools and other materials from the websites of 25 donor and international technical assistance agencies that support the implementation of HIV programmes in developing countries (see Appendix). Designed and implemented to improve capacity to manage HIS and M&E for HIV programmes, the materials have been selected for inclusion because they are self-guided, thus requiring little or no outside assistance for application. Among the other criteria:

• Allows participation by country staff in its application and use/ownership of results, as opposed to application and implementation of results solely by non-local experts;
• Provides good procedural guidance and clear formats;
• Has been applied in developing countries; and
• Is available online in English, and ideally, in at least one other language.

The compendium is organised in two parts:

• Part I. Crosswalk of Compendium Resources: This chart offers general information on each material, such as whether it has been applied in multiple countries. It also shows intended users, expected outcomes, and availability in languages other than English.
• Part II. Descriptions of Toolkits and Other Resources: Each material is described individually, using a standard template showing title, source, citation, URL, summary description, management practices addressed, HIV strategy or services addressed, sources of data, intended users, expected outcomes, languages, and where applied. At the end of each description, a following checklist of key selection criteria is given; for each material, a checkmark denotes criteria that are fulfilled.

The tools and materials presented in this compendium could be useful to the following audiences: central and subnational-level managers of information management systems in the public sector (ministries of health, national AIDS control programmes), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs), and the private sector; donors and technical assistance agencies working to strengthen and expand HIV programmes and services; and service providers at the facility level.