Through a bridge award from USAID, IntraHealth International has begun phase two of the Accelerating Support to Advanced Local Partners II (ASAP II) project and will continue to provide support and capacity-building services to local partners in sub-Saharan African countries. ASAP II builds on the successes of ASAP I and will rapidly prepare local organizations and government entities to have the capabilities and resources to serve as prime partners for USAID and US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programming.

IntraHealth International will lead the USAID project with consortium members SustainAbility Solutions, Foundation for Professional Development, Right to Care, and Deloitte Consulting. The 20-month project will provide technical assistance to local organizations that demonstrate capabilities to implement PEPFAR programs independently within 12–18 months and help USAID achieve its goal of providing 70% of its PEPFAR funding to local prime partners by 2025.

“We’re thrilled to receive this bridge award for ASAP II,” says Catherine Brokenshire-Scott, ASAP project director. “It will enable us to continue to offer a spectrum of technical expertise that will build the capacity of local partners to be USAID-ready to lead high-quality, PEPFAR-funded HIV/AIDS programs and services.”

ASAP II immediately follows ASAP I, a three-year project that worked with 61 local partner organizations and 12 local government partners in 15 countries.

IntraHealth is working with local partners to develop their internal capabilities, systems, and processes.

“IntraHealth is focused on data- and relationship-driven approaches and we’re quickly adapting to local contexts as we work with local partners to develop their internal capabilities, systems, and processes,” says Polly Dunford, president and CEO of IntraHealth. “ASAP II provides us with another opportunity to focus on strengthening local organizations and transitioning to a country-ownership model of international development.”

Starting in 2019, ASAP I helped strengthen leadership and governance, fraud identification and reporting, information technology, gender and inclusion, business development and sustainability, financial management and internal control, and human resources in local organizations. The team:

• hosted 76 training webinars for over 16,000 attendees
• conducted 61 organizational baseline assessments using the Non-US Organization Pre-Award Survey (NUPAS) or the ASAP-developed NUPAS Plus tool to determine next steps for organizations working toward USAID funding
• developed three training manuals for NUPAS Plus assessments, board leadership & governance, and subaward management
• supported the development of organizational policies and procedures to be in compliance with US government rules and regulations
• supported capacity development for 31 organizational boards with self-evaluations, training on leadership and governance, and facilitating approval of new policies and procedures
• conducted market salary surveys of 16 local nonprofits and then compared the results with industry standards 
• developed a regional sponsorship program and provided scholarships to 2,037 successful applicants for registration and completion of relevant eLearning courses.
• successfully supported three USAID Office of HIV/AIDS Local Partner Meetings, increasing attendance and abstract submissions each year.

Accelerating Support to Advanced Local Partners I & II are funded by the US Agency for International Development and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).