[post_published]

In recognition of the 10-year anniversary of the USAID NTD Program, the Agency commissioned an independent evaluation that was conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health under the Global Health Program Cycle Improvement Project (GH Pro) contract. The evaluation’s purpose was to answer the following four key questions:

  1. How have the Agency NTD Program and implementing partners influenced global policy and best practices?
  2. Is the Agency NTD Program’s current strategy the best approach for achieving the 2020 goals at the country level?
  3. Has the Agency NTD Program built country capacity and country ownership of the program?
  4. Are Agency-supported countries on track to achieve the  WHO’s NTD 2020 elimination and control goals for the diseases supported in the program?

The Executive Summary provides an overview of the evaluation purpose, background on the program and key findings. Building on this overview, the evaluation reviews examples of programs and considers cross-cutting themes and emerging trends. Taken together, these considerations informed key recommendations for the future. The recommendations overall highlight the need to keep a balance between achieving the wins that are within reach for select elimination diseases, while continuing to support National NTD programs in their efforts to manage evolving programs that need to find a solid footing within national ministry of health programs and the Sustainable Development Goals.

A few cross-cutting themes of note highlight the current progress the community is making and reinforce the new and emerging issues being considered:

  • Maintain the focus on disease elimination and, as applicable, work with countries to develop a clear pathway to the dossier.
  • Develop an approach to control diseases that emphasizes efficiency, effectiveness and coverage, which may require alternative delivery strategies.
  • Continue to invest in building the capacity of national NTD programs, including cross-cutting capacities that benefit the national NTD program beyond the preventive chemotherapy diseases.
  • Mainstream the national NTD programs into the national programs and planning processes to ensure sustainability.
  • Collaborate and share learning across countries and regions.

The findings from the evaluation have implications for the future direction of the Agency NTD Program. Importantly, the evaluation will also be useful for the NTD community working at the global, regional and country levels. The Agency and the global NTD community can apply these recommendations immediately and beyond as we approach the post-2020 era.

Download a copy of the USAID NTD Program 2016 Evaluation [PDF, 2.9MB], or read it online: