The UK Department for International Development (DFID) provides the Government of Pakistan with a £60M programme of budget support to strengthen the health system, with the aim of increasing the use of public health services, particularly by the poor.

 

Alongside this programme of budget support, a programme of technical assistance - Technical Assistance Management Agency (TAMA) - was established to help build capacity across the health and population sectors. Options manages TAMA with a consortium of national and international partners, providing targeted support to the seven key areas of the Government of Pakistan's health programme, including HIV & AIDS, malaria, TB, nutrition, population welfare, the Lady Health Worker programme and immunisation.

Our in-country team of health specialists and programme managers, led by Farooq Azam, work closely with the Government to prioritise needs, ensuring strategic technical assistance that is harmonised/complimentary across federal, provincial and district level. Appropriate national or international consultants are sourced by the Consortium to work alongside government counterparts to improve policy, planning and management.

Among its key achievements, TAMA has supported the establishment of a National Health Policy Unit, assisted the Government of Pakistan to develop a maternal, newborn and child health programme, assessed and expanded its HIV and AIDS programme, developed a public and private partnership model for TB programme, developed programme strategies for Malaria, Nutrition, Population and Health Education programmes, and devised strategies for devolution of the health and population programmes to provincial and district levels. TAMA also assisted the provincial government of NWFP in developing quality of health care standards and a system for their monitoring.

TAMA has successfully established robust procurement guidelines along with sound monitoring and evaluation procedures for contracting technical assistance. The TAMA model embodies a demand driven approach and works in close partnership with the government and international development partners.

TAMA is held in high regard for being a successful model of ensuring government ownership, while still maintaining independence and transparency in a challenging political environment.

 

To learn more about the Technical Assistance Management Agency in Pakistan, go to the website at www.tama.org.pk or contact Melissa Cole This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .