Management Response

: Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division
: 2012 - 2014 , Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division (HQ)
: End of Programme Evaluation of EC-UN Women programme Supporting Gender Equality in the Context of HIV/AIDS
:
: Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division
:

The final evaluation of UN Women's programme, 'Supporting Gender Equality in the Context of HIV and AIDS' resulted in the following outputs: . A report of the overall evaluation of the programme . A report of five country profiles, namely: Cambodia, Jamaica, Kenya, Papua New Guinea and Rwanda These reports provide overall as well as country-specific findings and recommendations that seek to enhance the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of UN Women's gender equality and HIV programming. The recommendations are provided in three main areas: UN Women's continued work on a gender transformative response to HIV, capitalizing on its role as a co-sponsor of UNAIDS, and strengthening M&E and learning as a key part of programme management. The five specific recommendations provided by the report are directed at UN Women's future programming on gender equality and HIV and seek to enhance UN Women's policy, programming and coordination roles at global and country level (with some implications for the regional level). UN Women appreciates the guidance given by this evaluation and found the recommendations to be relevant and actionable. This management response addresses the main recommendations of the synthesis evaluation report and presents key actions for implementing these recommendations. It incorporates the feedback, input and actions of HQ and country offices.

: Approved
Recommendation: Evaluation Recommendation 1: UN Women should continue its work on improving the institutions that govern the HIV response and on ensuring that women living with HIV are part of the decision-making process. This has been an appropriate and relevant emphasis for the organization that can be further strengthened. The evaluation found the governance approach, with its emphasis on gender-transformative policy frameworks, the accountability of public institutions and the voice of rights holders, relevant and effective, and one which builds on UN Women's track record in this area but also its comparative advantage as part of the UN's coordinated response to HIV. To strengthen work in this area, the evaluation recommended that UN Women define and test a theory of change (TOC) for gender transformative HIV response at the global, regional and country levels. This TOC would guide design and monitoring of future programming.
Management Response: UN Women agrees with this recommendation. The programme has demonstrated that influencing the governance of the HIV response by supporting policies, programme actions, and institutions that take into account the differential impact of the epidemic on men and women and ensuring there is increased engagement and leadership of women living with HIV in the response, is a successful approach. The design of the programme was informed by a gender-responsive governance approach guided by the human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination, inclusion and participation, and transparency and accountability. It was framed around two specific objectives: one which aimed to promote gender responsive national frameworks and strategies; to strengthen the accountability of public institutions (duty-bearers), namely national AIDS coordinating authorities, to deliver on and finance gender equality commitments on HIV, and the second: to secure a greater voice for organizations/networks of women living with HIV (rights-holders) in policy and decision-making spaces to hold government more accountable. Together these specific objectives were expected to strengthen the relationship/collaborations of 'duty bearers' and 'rights-holders' and contribute to more gender-responsive policies, programmes, actions and budgets to address HIV and AIDS. UN Women also agrees that articulating a theory of change will help to strengthen and up-scale UN Women's gender-responsive governance approach to HIV across its regional and country programming. A TOC will also establish a common language and basis for monitoring, evaluating and reporting on UN Women's work on gender equality and HIV and AIDS across the organization. This recommendation also corresponds with UN Women's Strategic Plan 2014-17 which includes HIV and AIDS in Impact Area 5 focused on Governance and national planning fully reflect accountability for gender equality commitments and priorities.
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category:
Thematic Area: Governance and planning (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Promoting inclusiveness/Leaving no one behind
Organizational Priorities: HIV/AIDS
UNEG Criteria: Relevance, Sustainability, Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Global: UN Women has already incorporated the 'governance' approach to work on HIV in the Strategic Plan 2014-2017 which includes an outcome and two outputs, along with key indicators that will track results focused on support for the development of gender-responsive national plans, policies and budgets to address HIV, to strengthen national and local coordinating authorities for addressing HIV, and to support and mobilize women living with and affected by HIV. HQ HIV team with Policy and Programme Divisions 2014/04 Completed
Global: Draft a Theory of Change for a gender-responsive governance approach to HIV HQ HIV team with COs 2014/07 Overdue-Not Initiated
Cambodia: The Governance approach is integrated into the DRF (2014-2015) and the AWP (2014) incorporates support to strengthening leadership and substantive participation of WLHIV in the HIV response, and to gender responsive planning and budgeting by government stakeholders, including the National AIDS Authority and MoWA. All programmes and their key stakeholders 2014/12 Overdue-Initiated UN Women focal point to provide technical, advisory support to ensuring integration across CO programmes, and to national policy development
Cambodia: Mobilization of resources for and support to the development of a gender component in the NSP IV (2016-2018) as well as the reformulation of the National Policy on Women, the Girl Child and HIV/AIDS. CO in partnership with NAA, MoWA, CSOs, WLHIV and KAP networks; and Joint UN Team on HIV&AIDS (JUTH) members 2015/12 Overdue-Not Initiated UN Women focal point to provide technical, advisory support to ensuring integration across CO programmes, and to national policy development
Jamaica: Provide technical support to the NHP to support the monitoring and implementation of a gender-responsive national HIV/AIDS response UN Women MCO and UN Women Jamaica Project Office, in collaboration with the UNCT 2015/12 Overdue-Not Initiated
Kenya: A review of the gender mainstreaming action plans developed during PHASE I of the programme will be carried out to guide and inform the continuous work with the NACC. Kenya CO and UNAIDS 2014/12 Overdue-Initiated
Kenya: Integration of gender into the Kenya National AIDS Strategic Plan (KNASP) IV currently under development and ensuring the active involvement of WLHIV in the process UN Joint team on HIV (UN Women is lead) and WLHIV 2014/03 Overdue-Initiated
Kenya: Develop a strategic concept note on UN Women?s gender equality and HIV programming for Kenya in 2014 and onwards. UN Women and East and Southern Africa Regional Office with HQ HIV Team 2014/03 Overdue-Initiated A consultant will be supporting the development of this strategic note
PNG: Support NACS integration into the Department of Health in 2014 with TA on gender mainstreaming with particular emphasis on WLHIV. PNG CO in collaboration with UNAIDS 2014/12 Overdue-Not Initiated Will commence when Government of PNG passes legislation in Feb 2014 to integrate NACS to Department of Health.Actions depend on when the official transfer of the NACS into Dept of Health occurs. CO will attend and contribute in all UNAIDS/NACS quarterly meetings with key stakeholders in the NACS responses and with PLHIV groups.
Rwanda: Support the establishment of a gender Unit charged with the mainstreaming of gender in the RRP+ interventions with particular emphasis on WLHIV. Rwanda CO in collaboration with Rwanda RP+, Rwanda Biomedical Centre and UNAIDS 2018/12 Overdue-Initiated Rwanda Biomedical Centre has been very supportive of RRP+ Gender Unit and has released funds to support the convening of its partners in June 2013
Recommendation: Evaluation Recommendation 2: In future programming, UN Women should continue to support activities at a sub-national level, but should identify the objectives of such work and consider strategies that involve joint programming with other UN agencies from the outset. The evaluation found that work at the sub-national level makes sense given that the dialogue space that is opened at a sub-national level provides opportunities for rights holders (WLHIV) to directly engage with service providers who are duty bearers. This allows for potentially more tangible and rapid effects on women?s lives than an exclusive focus on the national level. In addition, given the trend of decentralization, it appears that the implementation of a national HIV response will be reliant on local governments. However, capacity challenges for government agencies, service providers, and networks are greater at sub-national level and achieving sufficient coverage may require significant project resources and technical support. The evaluation therefore recommends that UN Women leverage the operational capacities in the UN system to expand this area of work where relevant.
Management Response: UN Women partially agrees with this recommendation. The relevance of working at sub-national level will need to be determined by each country context. Decentralization processes might not be accompanied by adequate financing or a devolution of power, therefore UN Women Country offices would need to do an analysis before determining the value of engaging with decentralized, sub-national state and non-state actors. In cases where it is clearly an advantage, UN Women would make every effort to engage at sub-national level where it does offer the possibility of improving the access of women living with HIV to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services, increasing their participation and engagement in local HIV planning and decision-making processes; and for making local AIDS Councils more responsive and more accountable to their demands. In four of the five programme countries (Cambodia, Kenya, Papua New Guinea and Rwanda), partners trained staff at provincial, district, and/or national level on integrating gender equality into HIV programmes and action plans and/or mobilized women living with HIV to participate in local planning and decision-making. The final evaluation identifies three significant challenges for work at the sub-national level: technical capacity of government agencies, service providers and networks of women living with HIV; resource needs for achieving sufficient coverage; UN Women capacity to provide technical support to partners working at sub-national level. In such areas, UN Women, through its role as a member of the UNAIDS family, or engagement in other country-level coordination mechanisms (i.e. Delivering as One), will work towards supporting technical capacity and knowledge, as well as facilitating the leadership and engagement of its constituency in sub-national HIV coordination and planning processes.
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category:
Thematic Area: Governance and planning (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Promoting inclusiveness/Leaving no one behind
Organizational Priorities: HIV/AIDS
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality, Relevance
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Global: Develop an internal guidance note on programming on gender equality in the HIV context at the sub-national level HQ HIV team with inputs from Governance and National Planning team, and Country Offices 2014/09 Overdue-Not Initiated
Cambodia: Mobilize resources for and support formulation of gender component of NSP IV (NAA) and revised policy on Women, the Girl Child and HIV/AIDS (MoWA) to ensure capacity building and consensus building at sub-national levels, with the aim of also aligning sub-national planning processes with national policy frameworks and ensuring substantive participation of WLHIV and KAPs in these processes. CO through support to NAA; MoWA; CSOs; WLHIV and KAP; in close collaboration with JUTH 2014/12 Overdue-Not Initiated At a resource mobilization stage (UBRAF)
Jamaica & Caribbean: Strengthen the advocacy and technical role of the Caribbean Coalition on Women, Girls and AIDS (CCWA) to support enhanced leadership of their national counterparts in the National Response to HIV and AIDS throughout the Caribbean; and to provide regional level advocacy to raise awareness about HIV prevalence. MCO in partnership with the CCWA national focal points; UNAIDS Regional Office; UNCTs in the six UNCTs in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean. 2015/12 Overdue-Initiated
Kenya: Identify 3 counties for modeling good practice on gender mainstreaming in the country level response to HIV and AIDS Kenya CO in partnership with Joint UN Team on HIV and AIDS 2014/12 Overdue-Initiated
PNG: Assess all CO programmes for gender mainstreaming. PNG CO 2014/07 Overdue-Initiated PNG CO AWP and Joint UN Team on HIV & AIDS (JUNTA) AWP include gender and HIV mainstreaming
Rwanda: Continued integration and mainstreaming of GE and HIV & AIDS into all sub-national programmes and UN joint programmes. Rwanda CO with the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) and RBC district focal points, RRP+ and One UN, especially UNAIDS. 2014/12 Overdue-Initiated Ongoing
Rwanda: Provide support for the training of the district Aids control committees (CDLS) for HIV mainstreaming in partnership with RBC and RRP+ CO, RRP+ and RBC 2014/06 Overdue-Initiated Rwanda CO AWP includes gender and HIV interventions. In addition a joint programme on HIV, gender and nutrition will be implemented in 2014 (see below).
Recommendation: UN Women should continue to develop a long-term vision and cultivate the partnerships necessary to support the capacity development of organizations of women living with HIV. The evaluation acknowledged UN Women's special niche in supporting the evolving capacities of coalitions and organizations of WLHIV to claim spaces for advocacy and dialogue and recommended continuous support to leadership training for WLHIV organizations, participatory development of advocacy strategies and outreach materials, technical support for organizational development, and support peer exchange and mentoring between national level networks and local level groups. The evaluation report indicated that long-term support in this area is needed for the development of organizations and networks of women living with HIV and for the representation of women in existing organizations or networks working on HIV-related issues. In some cases, in the programme countries, organizations are still in incipient phases of development. This is due to a number of factors, including the fact that women living with HIV are not a homogenous group. As in any coalition, on-going efforts are required to recognize and address the special needs and priorities of different coalition members and to build spaces in which they can come together for a common purpose. Two important lessons on building the leadership, advocacy and participation capacity of women living with HIV resulted from this evaluation: 1) Barriers to women?s participation must be addressed to ensure the engagement and participation of WLHIV networks. These barriers include stigma and discrimination and socio-economic needs; 2) Long term support is needed for the development of organizations and networks of women living with HIV and for the representation of women in existing organizations or networks working on HIV issues. Networks of women living with HIV need continued support through resources, mentoring, and facilitating alliance building.
Management Response: Management Response: UN Women agrees with this recommendation. UN Women's role in enabling and facilitating the strong engagement of networks and organizations of women living with HIV as well as expanding advocacy and policy spaces for their meaningful participation has long been acknowledged. Supporting networks of women living with and affected by HIV and AIDS is a priority of UN Women's efforts on HIV and as such has been included in the Strategic Plan 2014-2017 in the area of Impact 5: Governance and national planning fully reflect accountability for gender equality commitments and priorities. Specifically, Outcome 5.3 is focused on Gender-responsive national HIV/AIDS strategies, plans and budgets adopted and implemented; with two key outputs: Output 5.3.1 Key government institutions at national and local levels have the knowledge and tools to analyze, formulate and execute gender-responsive HIV plans and budgets; and important for this recommendation is Output 5.3.2 Women living with HIV and women affected by HIV have strengthened capacities to have their priorities included in HIV strategies and budgets. In addition, this emphasis in UN Women?s priorities in the HIV work also contributes to achieving outputs identified in the UNAIDS Unified Budget Results and Accountability Framework 2011-2015 in Goals C3 - supporting women and girls and C4 -stopping violence against women.
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category:
Thematic Area: Ending violence against women (SPs before 2018), Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Advocacy
Organizational Priorities: HIV/AIDS, Partnership
UNEG Criteria: Sustainability, Gender equality, Human Rights
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Global: Continue to provide technical support to strengthen leadership of WLHIV and caregivers networks at the global level, including facilitating spaces for representatives of networks of women living with HIV to engage in global policy spaces Policy Advisor, Regional Advisor 2014/12 Overdue-Initiated
Global and COs: Continue to strengthen capacity of women's organizations to engage with the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria and provision of technical guidance as requested. Policy Advisor, Country Offices, Regional offices 2014/12 Overdue-Initiated HQ HIV team convenes a Technical Partners Group on Gender Equality and HIV&AIDS with the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria to support greater action on gender equality within the New Funding Model
Cambodia: Response to this recommendation is integrated, in particular, into activities under the CCO AWP Outcome 4.1 'Mechanisms are in place to increase accountability of the Royal Government of Cambodia towards gender equality and to monitor implementation of gender equality commitments', building on past work. CCO through support to WLHIV and KAP networks, and CSOs involved in HIV response 2014/12 Overdue-Initiated Singapore National Committee funding + resource mobilization in process via UBRAF. Weak absorptive capacity of WLHIV networks and concentrated epidemic in Cambodia demand specific focus on ensuring collective advocacy, ensuring avenues are created for inclusion of the voice of WLHIV in policy dialogue.
Jamaica: The Caribbean Coalition on Women, Girls and AIDS (CCWA) was launched in November 2005 with the purpose of functioning principally as an advocacy body for improved AIDS programming for women and girls. The CCWA is a broad coalition of women from a diversity of backgrounds pledged to vigorously challenge all aspects of female vulnerability to HIV. UN Women MCO; UNAIDS Regional Office; and other relevant partners. 2015/12 Overdue-Initiated
Kenya: Gains from the EC programme have been integrated in the AWP 2014 and proposals will be developed for funding of the activities in the AWP specifically around WLHIVs. Kenya CO 2014/12 Overdue-Initiated
PNG: Mobilize resources for a WLHIV programme developed in 2013 and based on lessons learned from the programme. PNG CO 2014/12 Overdue-Initiated AWP including HIV interventions submitted to donor agencies for consideration.
Rwanda: Joint programme on HIV, gender and nutrition developed in 2013 based on lessons learned from the EC project and will be implemented in 2014. Rwanda CO 2014/12 Overdue-Initiated AWP submitted to HQ for core funding and joint intervention project submitted to the RC office for consideration.
Recommendation: Evaluation Recommendation 4: UN Women should capitalize on its role as a UNAIDS co-sponsor by building on its comparative advantages, sharing lessons in key areas with other co-sponsors, and contributing to the evidence in favour of the continued funding of gender transformative responses under the UNAIDS Strategic Investment Framework. UN Women became the 11th Cosponsor of UNAIDS in 2012 while the programme was still being implemented. As such the evaluators were able to reflect with stakeholders and informants on this new role for UN Women as the newest member of the UNAIDS family. The evaluation found that UN Women's work in promoting women?s human rights in the context of HIV is well recognized. The evaluation report reflected further to suggest areas UN Women could build on its comparative advantage and explore engagement: . Continue to draw on thematic linkages to ending violence against women; . Share and document good practices in promoting participation of women living with HIV; . Influence application of UNAIDS- new strategic investment framework so as to demonstrate the need for gender integration across the entire framework; . Consider Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission (EMTCT) as a possible area of focus in supporting the involvement of women living with HIV
Management Response: UN Women partially agrees with this recommendation. Country contexts and demands to UN Women for technical support will determine specific areas for engagement - although niche areas identified by the evaluation would be closely considered. While linkages to programming to end violence against women, documenting of good practice and promoting leadership of women living with HIV and their organizations, as well as, integrating gender equality through the strategic investment framework of UNAIDS, are all areas that fall in line with UN Women's comparative advantage and mandate, and therefore are areas UN Women will consider programming in as niche areas. UN Women has not traditionally engaged in the areas of the elimination of mother-to-child transmission, since other agencies have a stronger mandate to deliver services in this regard. However, as highlighted by the evaluation, UN Women would consider aligning to the area of 'demand generation' and supporting women?s access to knowledge and information on their rights in the area of EMTCT. Providing information, knowledge and promoting women's awareness of their rights would be an important priority area for country-level programming. By doing this, UN Women can contribute to the second element of the EMTCT agenda, which is 'keeping the mother alive'. In addition, UN Women will also leverage the normative gains of the CSW57 Agreed Conclusions on the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls to strengthen its thematic linkages to ending violence against women and its engagement with the H4+ partnership on maternal and child health as well as the Every Woman, Every Child global initiative to address elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. With regards to the UNAIDS Strategic Investment Framework UN Women has advocated and provided inputs to UNAIDS and other cosponsors the importance of ensuring that a gender lens is utilized throughout the framework, in order to ensure that the investments are beneficially to women and men?s priorities and needs in the HIV response. UN Women acknowledges that gender equality is also a critical enabler and an area for development synergy and will continue to support the efforts in this regard.
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category:
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018), Ending violence against women (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Knowledge management
Organizational Priorities: Partnership, HIV/AIDS
UNEG Criteria: Human Rights, Gender equality, Sustainability
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Global: UN Women has already identified and included key areas of focus and deliverables within UNAIDS cosponsored programme. These will also contribute to achieving the outcomes under the UNAIDS Unified Budget, Results and Accountability Framework in 2014 ¡V 2015: ?X Integration of gender equality into national HIV planning processes (i.e. National Strategic Plans on HIV, budgets and M&E systems) ?X Promotion of the leadership of women living with HIV and women¡¦s organizations working on HIV, including caregiver networks in national efforts to address HIV; ?X Promotion of the legal empowerment of women living with HIV and women affected by HIV and AIDS. ?X Strengthen technical support to Joint UN Programmes on HIV and AIDS and other UN country-level coordination mechanisms to better integrate gender equality HQ, Country Offices, Regional Offices 2015/12 Overdue-Initiated These are focus areas identified and approved by the Joint UNAIDS Programme and the UNAIDS PCB, along with resources allocated by UNAIDS through the UBRAF funding.
Global: UN Women is inputting to UNAIDS and UNDP guidance and policy notes for gender integration through the UNAIDS Strategic Investment Framework HQ 2014/12 Overdue-Initiated
Global: Develop a Guidance/Programming Note on integrating gender equality and women?s rights in the governance of the HIV Response HQ ?HIV team, with COs 2014/12 Overdue-Not Initiated
Cambodia: Continued lobbying and technical inputs through the JUTH and the National Committee for Gender and HIV/ AIDS (NCGHA), and via policy formulation processes slated for 2014 (see above). HIV-specific issues have been integrated within the CO?s Outcome 2 on WEE, and Outcome 3 on VAW. CCO with key partners: NAA, MoWA, WLHIV & KAP networks, CSOs; and in collaboration with particularly UNAIDS 2015/12 Overdue-Initiated
Kenya: Continued support to UNAIDS in UN Women?s capacity as a member of the joint team and in the management team to ensure integration of gender equality in HIV programming and response. Kenya CO 2014/12 Overdue-Initiated
PNG: Mainstream gender and HIV into DaO projects through Joint UNAIDS Annual Work Plan (with support from UNAIDS seconded Gender and HIV advisor) PNG CO in collaboration with UNAIDS 2014/12 Overdue-Initiated UNAIDS has agreed to second a P4 Gender and HIV Advisor to UN Women PNG CO.
PNG: Provide TA on GBV to the Global Fund for TB, AIDS and Malaria and to PNG stakeholders GFATM allocated UN Women PNG funds for GBV Coordination Project Officer for 2 years 2014/12 Overdue-Initiated Position is for 2 years to promote GBV inclusion in all HIV GFAT initiatives and to assist with GBV coordination generally in PNG.
Rwanda: Implement joint intervention on HIV, gender and nutrition. Intervention design drew on lessons learned from the EC-UN Women programme. Rwanda CO in collaboration with UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO 2014/12 Overdue-Initiated There is a strong possibility of mobilizing resources from DAO and UNAIDS through the Unified Budget, Results and Accountability Framework.
Recommendation: Evaluation Recommendation 5: In future global programmes, UN Women should pay greater attention to monitoring, evaluation, and learning which could help identify worthwhile approaches that might be scaled up to other countries. This would likely require more investment in programme management at the country and global levels. The evaluation report highlighted that global programmes offer UN Women an opportunity to learn about what works, and why, in different country contexts. They also provide a potential platform for testing programming approaches at the national level that could be adapted and implemented in other countries (i.e. scaled up). In order to take advantages of these opportunities, however, the evaluation report recommends that sufficient attention is paid and resources allocated to monitoring, evaluation and learning. As noted in the report (Finding 19), the programme?s investment in programme management at the country level limited the possibilities for stronger monitoring, evaluation, and learning functions. For future global programmes, the evaluation suggests the following areas for consideration: allocating more resources to programme management in country; extending the period for M&E beyond the end of the programme in order to capture policy and behavioural changes; drawing on the use of regional and evaluation specialists to support country-level work and encouraging use of results and lessons learned to develop regional strategies and approaches and the sharing of learning within and across regions; strengthen M&E frameworks for programmes focused on capacity development/policy influence; provide technical guidance and support to implementing partners for monitoring and reporting; provide a ?model? to evaluate trainings in order to understand their contributions to other results; especially when training is a key strategy of the programme; adapt M&E tools according to capacity of implementing partners to monitor and evaluate and to reflect the potential pace for change that its partners may have.
Management Response: UN Women agrees with this recommendation. UN Women recognizes global programmes as strategic vehicles for influencing global policy and linking more coherently normative and operational levels; building strategic partnerships; building UN Women?s technical leadership and innovation and capacity to respond to emerging issues; cross regional learning and evidence based knowledge generation; and bringing added value to regional and country programmes. Global programmes can share and demonstrate models and practices that are evaluable for impact and adaptable and expandable beyond countries participating in the programme. It is important to note that the programme design emphasized the importance of supplementing capacities in institutions charged with responding to HIV and AIDS, the national AIDS coordinating bodies, with senior level gender expertise/ Gender Advisors. As such, the programme allocated funding normally set aside for human resources/programme management staff in country towards the putting in place of Senior Gender Advisors in NACs. Interestingly, the Evaluation Report highlights in Finding #8 that ?As a result of the programme, the staff of NACAs and other governmental institutions in all five countries have taken steps to mainstream gender in their work. Gender Advisors have played a key role in this area.? Therefore, it is clear that the decision to support the inclusion of Gender Advisors was strategic; however, it seems to have been at the expense of dedicated programme management staff in each programme country to undertake monitoring, evaluation, and learning. UN Women will take this recommendation into consideration when designing future global and cross-regional programming. It is important also to note that investment in programme management support is needed at all levels. Locating technical, policy and operational support closer to country offices, UN Women Regional Centres (which were set up during the programme implementation period) could play a key role in strengthening and overseeing implementation at the country level, assessing lessons learned and nurturing cross-regional learning and knowledge sharing in collaboration with country offices. Furthermore, UN Women corporate implementation and monitoring procedures and tools are being improved continuously, while allowing flexibility to align M&E practices to each individual programme.
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category:
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Not applicable
Organizational Priorities: Culture of results/RBM
UNEG Criteria: Effectiveness, Relevance
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Global: Recruit Regional HIV Advisors (one in Africa, one in Asia-Pacific) to ensure that regional centres and country offices have required technical capacity and work in line with strategic objectives. HQ (Policy and Programme Division) and Regional Offices. 2014/07 Overdue-Initiated
Cambodia: The CO recruited an M & E Officer in 2013 and all staff has been trained in RBM and M & E in 2014. The CO will continue to provide technical inputs to the strengthening results orientation and understanding of M & E among implementing partners and the Government (incl. NAA and MOWA), and to national M & E systems. Across CCO programmes CO with NAA, MoWA, and in partnership with the JUTH (the CO has shared the recently finalized Compendium of Indicators with JUTH members) 2015/12 Overdue-Initiated NAA and MoWA have expressed specific interest in learning about, and piloting the Compendium of Indicators on Gender and HIV/AIDS. (M & E Framework of national GE Strategy, the Neary Rattanak IV, is due in the upcoming months; M & E of the NSP will be planned in 2015).
Jamaica: To support NHP and national HIV/AIDS working group in monitoring the implementation of national policies and programmes from a gender-responsive perspective; UN Women MCO/Jamaica Project Office; UNCT; NHP; NGOs 2015/12 Overdue-Not Initiated
PNG: Advocate for sufficient funds to support M&E and local staffing to support implementation of projects PNG CO 2015/12 Overdue-Not Initiated Axiomatic that global programmes should assess local capacity and provide funding for such in future programmes.
Rwanda: Advocate for sufficient funds to support M&E and local staffing to support implementation of projects Rwanda CO 2015/12 Overdue-Initiated