Country monitoring and accountability system visit to Democratic Republic of the Congo ─ January 28-February 1, 2013 : summary of key findings and recommendations

As the U.S. science-based public health and disease prevention agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plays an important role in implementing the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) under the direction of the Department of State’s (DOS) Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC). CDC uses its technical expertise in public health science and long-standing relationships with Ministries of Health (MOH) across the globe to work side-by-side with countries to build strong national programs and sustainable public health systems that can respond effectively to the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. CDC global HIV/AIDS PEPFAR-related activities are implemented by the Division of Global HIV/AIDS (DGHA) in CDC’s Center for Global Health. PEPFAR activities represent the largest portfolio of global health activities at CDC. ; CDC/DGHA launched the Country Monitoring and Accountability System (CMAS) in 2011 to identify challenges resulting from the rapid scale-up of complex CDC/PEPFAR programming as a part of CDC’s commitment to transparency and accountability. This initiative serves as a basis for ongoing, monitored quality improvement of DGHA’s programs and operations through internal programmatic and financial oversight. CMAS is a proactive response on the part of CDC to: 1) ensure accountability for global programs and proper stewardship of U.S. government resources by promoting explicit performance standards and defining expectations for bringing all components of program accountability up to the highest standards; 2) ensure DGHA is supporting DOS, OGAC, and the Presidential Initiatives; 3) serve as a basis for ongoing, monitored quality improvement; and 4) effectively prepare CDC for future oversight audits, congressional inquiries, and special data calls. ; The CMAS strategy was designed to systematically assess CDC’s accountability and proper stewardship of U.S. government resources and provide feedback on key business and program operations in the following key ...