In the countries where it works, Plan is a long term partner in development. With its systems, I mean, financial, management, procurement, human resources and its good programs in health, HIV/AIDS, malaria it makes the difference in the joint government - civil society health projects”.

With these words, Luis Tam, USNO Technical Unit Director conveyed Plan’s comfort, working with the global Fund, the unique public /private partnership which has been attracting and providing large amounts of additional resources to fight malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Indeed, Plan’s systems bear some similarity with the global Fund partnership with governments, civil society, the private sector and communities requirements. Therefore, it is not surprising that four Plan program countries in West Africa, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Togo have been/are getting involved in the Global Fund.

This is the first time in the entire Plan world, and as a wave of trust sweeping through these country offices, they are all likely to run the project as principal beneficiaries, in partnership with the respective ministries in charge of Health and other local associations. Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Togo decided to reinforce their projects on malaria, while Benin focuses on HIV/AIDS.

Burkina Faso’s country office was the first in the Fund rounds, namely the 8th, with a budget allocation of € 62,363,738,36. It has successfully completed the preparatory stages and has therefore hosted a meeting in Ouagadougou with representatives of Plan Benin, Plan Cameroon and Plan Togo which are candidates for the 9th round, to share experience and to also discuss their overall involvement with the Fund. This was done last December 15 and 16th in Ouagadougou, with the West Africa regional office, the US and the Canada National Offices also represented.

The main objective of the Ouagadougou meeting was to share Plan Burkina Faso experience of the preparation and negotiation phases in order to help Plan Benin, Plan Cameroon and Plan Togo successfully go through these stages. The expected funds in the various proposals are :

 â‚¬ 113,963,337 for Cameroon

 â‚¬ 70.116,448 for Togo

 â‚¬ 108 636 826 € for Bénin.

Plan Burkina Faso’s experience provided the grounds on which discussions were led. The other countries progress with the Fund projects was also presented, inviting for contributions. Outstanding issues raised during the two days meeting included among others human resources, paper work, monitoring evaluation, purchase stock and finance management, partners secondary beneficiaries with inadequate resources, duplication of actions, precise budgeting, project leadership, negotiation skills for good partnership, procedure manual writing and risks. With the demanding daily program work, developing a wide scope project like the Global Fund one was also subject to discussions as well as safeguarding Plan’s identity and complying with the requirements of such a huge grant. This exchange workshop was an opportunity for valuable advice, sharing of experiences and best practices as well as lessons learned towards the best ways to carry through the project. Some recommendations were also made on how best to develop the Global Fund project which requires working in partnership, that is a challenge as it involves dealing with various entities which are not necessarily having the same skills, resources and commitment.

At the end of the workshop, participants from Togo, Benin and Cameroon felt they were more endowed to go through the various stages of the project funding process.

Participants testifying

Laurent Blagogee : « We came in search of knowledge and experience and I can say today that the team of Plan Burkina Faso did not spare any effort to help. We appreciate the various contributions and will keep in touch. Soon, you will hear about the signature of our contract with the Global Fund”.

Adama Coulibaly Country Director, Plan Togo : “The meeting has been a source of motivation since Plan Burkina Faso already has an experience, and the preparatory stage has been a success on which everyone agrees. We hope that the implementation stage will also be a great success. Some organizations have been main beneficiaries without Plan’s reputation ; the competences within Plan make up our strength. I believe that the three countries will succeed, and together with Burkina Faso, we will have 4 strong countries in the region. I trust that in 3 years, the Fund will approve Plan’s proposals wherever it summits them.”

Alexander ECONOMOU, Resource Mobilization and Grants Advisor at Plan West Africa Regional Office : « It is an opportunity for me to say congratulations to the 3 teams, because I know a lot of work. Well done ! It is a big achievement for the region, globally as well. As a region, pioneering with grants of this scale, of such complexity is a big challenge for all of us, and it is also very exiting. We can be proud of that. The success of this global fund will be based on Burkina Faso’s previous experience and, I want to say thank you to Burkina Faso as well, for their considerable time and support…”

Casimir Youmbi, Plan Cameroon Program Support Manager : « There no lesson about something, if that thing does not exist. In my country as the common saying goes, “talking too much makes one sick”. Therefore, I am simply saying, Thank you to all”

Dr. Mahamadou Tounkara, Country Director, Plan Burkina Faso : “There is a multidimensional management of relations with the Global Fund Secretariat, between Plan and many organizations within the countries and abroad, which is a unique experience to go through. Besides, I would like to stress that the success of this exercise depends on everyone’s commitment, and if colleagues are committed, there is no reason why things will not work. We will have to overcome many difficulties, a lot of tension, but I remain optimistic since experiences are being shared, collaboration is established and I take this opportunity to reiterate the availability of colleagues from Burkina Faso to help whenever possible”.

Barro Famari, USNO Program Manager for West Africa : “The aim of the USNO attending this meeting was to give our support so that the three eligible countries benefit from Plan’s experience and are better prepared to take up negotiations. I think that we have reached that objective as most participants testified it after the meeting. The USNO has helped the countries to prepare their proposals, and then, once they became eligible, it has contributed about $50,000 dollars per country and funding the current meeting. Roughly, the USNO has contributed $200.000 dollars for these preparations. We are also pioneers in this Global Fund initiative. Other national offices are interested, Plan Canada especially, and we are going to work together to support the program countries efficiently ».

Luis Tam USNO Technical Unit Director : “I am impressed and thankful that the Plan Burkina staff gave their best contribution to help the other countries so that they could really learn. A lot has been learnt and it has exceeded our expectations. I think that after this meeting, the negotiations for Benin, Togo and Cameroon will be more successful than they were before. By becoming principal recipient, Plan can do a lot of good service to the country ; it will administer funds for the people, see to it that these funds are used appropriately and can gain a lot by raising its image as a contributor to health”.