The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the largest commitment ever made by any nation for an international health initiative dedicated to a single disease. This multi-agency response draws from each agency’s core competencies to provide the most comprehensive, coordinated, and targeted interventions. Federal departments involved in PEPFAR’s implementation, include the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), U.S. Department of Defense, and the Peace Corps.
As PEPFAR prepared to enter into its third phase Rumph and Associates began working on the Expenditure Analysis (EA) contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The EA initiative evolved from the recognized need for timely cost information to improve management and increase efficient operations of PEPRAR programs. Employing tools such as EA to quantify programs, improve accountability, and maximize smart investments, PEPFAR is achieving more with finite resources and taking greater strides towards an AIDS Free Generation.
PEPFAR’s budget provides bilateral support to more than 50 countries globally. Rumph has partnered with the CDC since 2012 to continue the mission to provide innovative financial tracking strategies to achieve real results at lower cost so that more can benefit. We provide in-person and virtual Technical Assistance and training in 37 countries and regions in Africa, the Caribbean Region, and Central America. Rumph’s TA services include participation in the Country Operating Plan sessions. Over the last 2 years the EA initiative has evolved and progressed to the Expenditure and Financial Resource Monitoring and Analysis project(EFRMA or Expenditure Reporting). Expenditure and Financial monitoring has provided critical information for the increasing data calls from Congress, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and other stakeholders.
The information collected continues to be used to improve program efficiency and strategic budgeting. Having this information available to assist PEPFAR implementing partner organizations, US Government country teams and USG headquarter entities with strategic planning and budgeting, and partner management results in improvement in services and drives value for money by improving outcomes through the provision and use of the data.
EFRMA has the same goals and objectives of EA, with a greater alignment with the PEPFAR budgeting process through a shared classification strategy. Employing tools that utilize high quality expenditure and budget data help to quantify programs, improve accountability, and maximize smart investments, ensuring that PEPFAR can achieve more with finite resources and taking greater strides towards an AIDS Free Generation. The success of the PEPFAR EA and now the ER processes has led to the Secretary of State/Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator to make it an annual requirement for Country Operation Planning (COP).