Linked to Activities 9344, 9349.

The roles and responsibilities of CDC's management and technical staff personnel range from management of the overall President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program to providing onsite technical assistance and training, including financial management technical assistance to the both the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the United States Government (USG)'s institutional partners. In addition to the usual management and staffing issues of all USG agencies under the umbrella of the U.S. Embassy, CDC's Haiti Global AIDS Program (CDC Haiti) office is responsible for implementing a single public health program, CDC's portion of the PEPFAR program. CDC Haiti does not operate within a larger in-country agency context for its administrative support service, thus it has responsibility for its own contingency planning and US security requirements, such as the planned purchase of a second Lightly Armored Vehicle; leasing and minor renovation of a secure warehouse for lab supplies/equipment; and addressing turnover of locally-employed support and the need to recruit and train replacement staff.

In order to better implement the PEPFAR program with a goal of long-term program integration and sustainability, CDC Haiti will undertake the following management activities in FY 2007: continue ongoing USG team-building to assess specific training and development needs; continue to recruit staff for vacant field positions, especially vacant care and treatment specialists and health information specialists located at the regional departmental level; develop a dedicated high-risk prevention section to work jointly with USAID counterparts in the area of prevention strategies for high risk populations, with a Personal Services Contract(PSC)/Public Health Advisor as Section Chief; lease a new, secure warehouse facility; establish warehouse operations to ensure that commodities and supplies are received safely and distributed in a timely fashion throughout the country, and also that supplies are refrigerated as appropriate and distributed in the same manner throughout the country. The current CDC warehouse was new last year, having been established when we were asked to leave the US Embassy warehouse in 2005; however, the new Airport Road, while in a better part of the insecure ‘red' zone, is still subject to periodic security concerns, so we will be forced to secure a new facility much nearer the new Embassy construction area at Tabarre.

CDC Haiti is currently recruiting for a new Chief of Party/Country Director, as well as a US PSC to head up its high-risk prevention activities, and plans to have both positions filled early in FY 2007. Both of these positions were vacated in FY 2006. Additionally, CDC Haiti will fill a vacant Medical Director position from within its locally-engaged technical staff. In order to increase significantly administrative and technical oversight of its cooperative agreements, CDC Haiti will recruit two additional financial managers who, working under the Chief Administrative Officer, will provide increased administrative and financial oversight of cooperative agreements, including an enhanced audit function, while working closely with the technical leads in each area to provide detailed monthly and quarterly updates of partners' progress. CDC Haiti will also hire a new administrative assistant and back-fill a procurement assistant who is co-located in the Embassy procurement section, to facilitate CDC procurements.

CDC and USAID, in a coordinated effort to ensure adequate technical coverage and avoid duplication of human resources, have a complementary roster of technical advisors that is based on core institutional competencies and experience. As of September 2006, thirty-five (35) CDC staff members are directly supported by the PEPFAR budget, including two vacancies and four 'in-process' positions. Of these 35 staff, three (3) are US Direct Hires (USDH), including the Chief of Party, the Deputy Director, and the Laboratory Section Chief, who is a Senior Service Fellow (a personnel appointment equivalent to USDH positions, but allocated to non-US citizens). The remaining staff is Locally Engaged Staff (LES) or partner-funded laboratory and support staff. The Port au Prince CDC office houses both professional (technical, financial staff, Information Technology (IT) staff, procurement and inventory management) and support (secretaries and drivers) staff.

Approximately 30% of the staff, consisting of both professional (e.g., regional care and treatment specialists and regional information specialists) and support (driver/clerks) are located in small, regional offices throughout the country (e.g., Cap Haïtien and Saint Marc, in the north; Les Cayes; Jacmel; Jeremie, in the south) in association with the MOH's Regional Departmental hospital system, at these various regional locations. The

decentralization of CDC staff at the regional department level is a reflection of CDC's lead role in PEPFAR care and treatment implementation, and the need to institutionalize PEPFAR activities at the local MOH level to the maximum extent possible. Moreover, given the ongoing security concerns in Haiti, the USG Team recognizes the crucial need for program implementation to continue unhindered at the regional department level, regardless of security situations which may occur in the capital. Decentralization is designed to permit program implementation to continue, even if critical events result in further security interruptions, and other management challenges.

To supplement CDC Haiti resident staff, funds are reserved for targeted technical assistance from CDC Atlanta on a broad range of technical issues, policy development, and documentation activities to bring more analytical and evidence-based design to the PEPFAR Program. Funds are reserved for staff training, travel for field program supervision and technical coordination in and outside of Haiti. Commodity procurement includes purchase of additional office equipment. Infrastructure expenses include security and related office upgrades and administrative expenses. Logistics include staff overtime and vehicle maintenance, insurance and fuel.