Fostering Accountability and Transparency (FACT) in Zambia AID-611-14-L-00001

3rd Quarter FY16 April-June 2016

Revised Report Submitted August 15, 2016

1 Table of Contents I. List of Acronyms ...... 3 II. Executive Summary ...... 4 III. Political Context...... 4 Education ...... 5 Health ...... 6 Environment ...... 6 IV. Analysis ...... 7 V. Summary of Activities ...... 9 Objective 1 Updates: ...... 9 Objective 2 Updates: ...... 13 VI. Monitoring and Evaluation ...... 19 VII. Achievements ...... 25 VIII. Challenges and Lesson Learnt ...... 25 Challenges: ...... 25 Lessons learnt: ...... 26 IX. Priorities for Next Quarter ...... 26 Appendix 1 – FY16 Gantt Chart ...... 26

2 I. List of Acronyms ART Anti-Retroviral Treatment ARV Antiretroviral CCMG Christian Churches Monitoring Group COMACO Community Markets for Conservation CRB Community Resource Boards CSPR Civil Society for Poverty Reduction CSO Civil Society Organization DAC District Advocacy Committee DDCC District Development Coordinating Committee DEBS District Education Board Secretary DFID Department for International Development DHMT District Health Management Team DQA Data Quality Assessment FACT Fostering Accountability and Transparency FEWS Net Famine Early Warning Systems Network FGD Focus Group Discussions FP Family Planning FY Financial Year HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus LAG Lobbying and Advocacy Group M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MCH Maternal and Child Health MoGE Ministry of General Education NCD Non Communicable Diseases NDP National Development Plan NGOCC The Non-Governmental Organizations Coordinating Council NHC Neighbourhood Health Committee OD Organizational Development PCC Project Coordination Committee PCSC Parent Community School Committee PDF Public Dialogue Forum PEPFAR President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief PF Patriotic Front PLWH People Living with HIV PMEP Project Monitoring and Evaluation Plan PMNCH Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health PODA Participatory Organizational Development Assessment REFLECT Regenerative Freirean Literacy through Empowering Community Techniques RFA Request for Applications RICAP Rise Community Aid Programme SADC Southern African Development Community SMAG Safe Motherhood Action Group TALC Treatment Advocacy and Literacy Campaign UPND United Party for National Development US United States USG United States Government USAID United States Agency for International Development VCT Voluntary Counseling and Testing WFC Women for Change ZAMNCH Zambia Alliance for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health ZAWA Zambia Wildlife Authority ZINGO Zambia Interfaith Networking Group ZOCS Zambia Open Community School

3 II. Executive Summary This is the third FY16 quarterly report for the Fostering Accountability and Transparency (FACT) in Zambia program, #AID-611-14-L-00001, under the USAID Global Civil Society Leader with Associates Award. This is a 5-year, $5.9 million, program that began on September 30, 2014 and will conclude on September 29, 2019.

The goal of FACT is to improve the enabling governance environment of Zambia by increasing citizen demand for effective, transparent, and accountable service delivery.

The Program activities fall within two program objectives: • Objective 1: Strengthen capacity of local Civil Society Organizations (CSO) to enhance delivery and oversight of public service delivery in the education, health/HIV, sustainable rural livelihoods and environment sectors; and • Objective 2: Improved engagement between citizens and government service providers in the education, health/HIV, sustainable rural livelihoods and environment sectors to improve service delivery.

The political context is currently dominated by issues related to the elections of counselors, members of parliament and the president of the Republic of Zambia. There’s also a referendum on the Bill of Rights as part of Constitutional reform. Heightened political rivalries that have been accompanied by some violence has led to a cautious approach by FACT. The District Public Dialogue Forums in four districts were carefully managed to prevent any misrepresentation of the purpose of the dialogues. The PDFs went well with meaningful dialogue between citizens, civil society, service providers and local authorities and actions plans were developed.

The implementing FACT partners have continued mobilising and strengthening community groups and structures to engage effectively with service providers and decision makers. Communities have identified a range of issues that are preventing them from accessing quality services. COMACO became the sixth local CSO to be awarded a sub-award for FACT, working in three districts in Eastern Province on engagement and collaboration between farmers, communities and government agencies to promote conservation and sustainable livelihoods led by farmer cooperatives.

Counterpart continued to progress towards awarding sub-awards to civil society coalitions to take up government engagement and advocacy aspects of FACT at the Provincial and National levels. To this end, Counterpart facilitated a proposal development meeting for coalitions to strengthen the contents of their proposed projects and align them better with the objectives of FACT.

Progress continues in achieving the FY16 milestones and indicator targets. Eight of the FY16 indicator targets have now been met or exceeded. Indicators related to the result areas concerned with citizen oversight and grassroots participation have shown the greatest progress this quarter. Challenges in getting duty bearers to not just engage with citizens and civil society but to take action to address poor service delivery, continues to hinder more widespread enhancement of services. Counterpart recognizes that continued strengthening of staff, civil society and citizens is needed to challenge the prevailing culture that’s unresponsive to the demands of citizens.

III. Political Context As the 2016 election campaign intensifies, there have been reports of in-fighting within both the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) and the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND). One area of contention for political parties was the selection of party candidates for the parliamentary elections. Disputes within political parties on who should stand for election in some constituencies led to internal divisions. There have also been cases of violence between supporters of opposing political parties.

In April there were outbreaks of violence, looting and riots in a number of parts of Lusaka. The riots were triggered by a series of ‘ritual’ murders where several cases of murder in Lusaka involved the mutilation of the murdered bodies. Some of the violence targeted ethnic minorities, including Rwandans, on the basis of accusations that members of Rwandan community were behind the ritual killings. Hundreds of people, mostly Rwandese, were forced to leave their homes and find shelter elsewhere including several hundred at one of the catholic churches in Lusaka. The violence was brought under control after about three days with an increased presence of law enforcement agencies around the city. The riots showed that conditions exist for further violence to be triggered

4 by perceived injustices and weak law enforcement.

The three main Church mother bodies in Zambia; the Christian Council of Zambia, the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia and the Zambia Episcopal Conference convened in late March, a special meeting with 18 party presidents to call for peace during the 2016 general and presidential elections. Concerns continue to be raised at the lack of adherence to the measures agreed at this meeting by the main political parties. The Christian Churches Monitoring Group (CCMG) was formed by the three Church mother bodies along with the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR). The CCMG has cautioned media houses and journalists covering campaigning against biased and harmful reporting that can contribute to an upsurge of violence and insecurity. The CCMG will continue to monitor and engage with key stakeholders to encourage safer and less violent elections.

Concerns have been raised regarding the referendum on August 11th in which Zambians will vote on the amended Bill of Rights as part of the revised Constitutional amendments and dissolution of Clause 79. Clause 79 stipulates the process and mode for making changes to the Bill of Rights and the holding of a referendum. The amended Bill of Rights broadens the scope of constitutional issues such as the guarantee of fundamental rights to education and health. In the current Constitution 1991 Amended 1996 rights it states, “The Directive Principles of State Policy set out in this part shall not be justiciable and shall not thereby, by themselves, despite being referred to as rights in certain instances, be legally enforceable in any court, tribunal or administrative institution or entity”1. This fails to guarantee the most basic rights to support national development. The Bill of Rights to be presented and adopted through the referendum attempts to move these ‘rights’ to fully fledged, justiciable rights.

A debate among some is the validity of combining changes in the Bill of Rights with the dissolution of Clause 79 into a single referendum question. It forces voters to agree or disagree with two issues when the voter may agree with one part of the question while disagreeing with the other part. An additional concern has been the lack of wide spread awareness and sensitization on the referendum. The Zambia Election Commission has produced public information materials to raise awareness and understanding2. The Law Association of Zambia and other CSO actors had previously challenged the legality of the referendum, but have since rescinded the move and joined in the public awareness campaigns and dialogues along with Caritas and other CSOs. Platforms for public dissemination include Facebook, TV and radio adverts, SMS messages to mobile phones and information forums.

Education The Ministry of General Education continued during the quarter to implement various programmes aimed at increasing access and quality of education to all learners. The Department for International Development (DFID) has largely supported the Zambia Education Sector Support Technical Assistance (ZESSTA) project which aims to support the Government of Zambia to improve the effectiveness of its planning and expenditure in education. The government concluded the review of the NIF III and a situational assessment for input into the NIF IV. A roadmap for this has been developed and will be shared with CSOs and key stakeholders in due course. ZANEC will lead a CSO meeting in July 2016 to review the Ministry of General Education’s situational assessment and provide input into the NIF IV development process. The process of developing the NIF IV is planned to be completed by September 2016.

The 2016 education budget has seen a significant breakthrough in support to community schools with an allocation of ZMW 3,000,000 This was the first time ever that the Ministry of Finance allocated an amount directly meant for community schools. Previously, allocations to community schools were left to the discretion of the District Education Board Secretaries; a process which was not transparent. However, the allocated amount was only enough for infrastructure development in a few schools. While the amount is comparatively low, it represents a precedent and a milestone for advocacy work by ZOCS and other civil society organizations working in the community schools’ movement.

In May 2016, the Ministry of General Education announced the revision of the maximum recruitment age for teachers from 40 to 45 years. The adjustment has been made to facilitate the recruitment of older and mature teachers willing to withstand the harsh conditions of rural based schools. The teacher-pupil ratio in Zambians

1 Republic of Zambia. The Constitution of the Republic of Zambia 1991 (as amended up to Act No. 18 of 1996) available at: http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text.jsp?file_id=208128#LinkTarget_2148 2 Further information available at https://www.elections.org.zm/referendum_question.php 5 schools remains a huge challenge to the sector. The estimated deficit is over 50,000 teachers and government has been recruiting an average of 5,000 teachers per year. Health Zambia is progressing towards the global call for HIV and AIDS treatment and the 2020 target of 90:90:90. The campaign calls for 90 percent of all people living with HIV to know their HIV status; 90 percent of all those diagnosed with HIV infection to receive antiretroviral therapy (ART), and that 90 percent of all those receiving ART, attain and sustain viral suppression. Many women have been tested and those testing positive put onto antiretroviral treatment through antenatal clinics. However, there are still challenges as only just over forty percent of the Zambian population know their HIV status and testing rates for men are much lower than those for women. Underlying factors that hinder the uptake of testing include the shortage of human resources at all levels of health service delivery, stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS, and poor health seeking behaviours among men.

In May 2016, a consortium of civil society organizations including FACT partner Treatment Advocacy and Literacy Campaign (TALC), expressed concern over the shortage of the HIV test kits in the country including the delivery of expired test kits to facilities in February and the expiration of about 500,000 test kits in the country’s medical store highlighting a poor supply chain management system. The Ministry of Health disclosed that the Global Fund had procured 10,000 HIV test kits through United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Ministry spokesperson Dr. Pitters said the stock was for use in April and May 2016. She further said that further consignments of 15,000 test kits from PEPFAR and a Ministry of Health procurement through the Global Fund will ensure adequate stocks.

Zambia has the third highest number of child marriages of countries in the SADC region and is 19th in the world. In Zambia, about 45 per cent of women aged 20-24 years were married by the age of 18. Percentage rates of child marriages vary from province to province, and are as high as 60 per cent in the Eastern Province. (www.girlsnotbrides.org). Zambia has recently launched the End Child Marriages strategic plan (2016 – 2021) to help curb the vice. The National Strategy on Ending Child Marriage in Zambia has been developed to strengthen and coordinate the responses of all stakeholders in addressing the vulnerabilities as well as the consequences of child marriage. Girls who marry as children are susceptible to the health risks associated with early sexual initiation and childbearing, including HIV and obstetric fistula. Lacking status and power, these girls are often subject to domestic violence, sexual abuse and social isolation. Early marriage also deprives girls of education.

Since 5 February 2016, 1,179 cases of cholera have been reported in Zambia, with Lusaka reporting the highest followed by Southern, Northern, Copperbelt and Central provinces. The Eastern province did not record any significant number of cholera cases. Thirty-one cholera related deaths had been reported since the onset of the outbreak, of which eight were children. The Government’s response has been to strengthen prevention measures, and to set up cholera treatment centers in the affected areas. Twenty-one schools in Kanyama (one of two largest townships in Lusaka) were temporarily closed due to poor sanitary conditions.

Environment The Land Policy review process has been halted again as parliament has been dissolved to pave way for new elections in August 2016. The Ministry of Lands, Environment and Natural Resources is still at the helm of leading the process in collaboration with key Government institutions (Ministry of Local Government and Housing, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs, local authorities), Civil Society Organizations (Zambia Land Alliance are taking the lead in coordinating input from CSOs) and the Private Sector. It is most likely the policy will be adopted after the elections.

The duration of the daily electricity power cut offs locally referred to as ‘load shedding’ due to inadequate power generation has lessened but continues to have a significant impact. The reduction in power cuts is in part attributed to the recently commissioned Itezhi-Tezhi Hydro-power Station which was built at a cost of US$142 million. Further generation is planned for through a 150 Megawatt Coal Power Plant in Maamba, Sinazongwe district. Zambia is the first country in Africa where the World Bank Group has launched the Solar Scaling project in Africa with plans for two solar plants to generate 100 megawatts out of a targeted 600 megawatts for the program. Water levels in Kariba dam that feeds Zambia’s main hydro-electric plant are still below historical lows. The recently ended rainy season failed to replenish levels to even last year’s record lows and so reduced generation of electricity from this source will continue for the coming year and most likely the subsequent years too.

6

Despite the rains coming late and being somewhat erratic, indications are that the harvest in Zambia will be adequate in most parts of the country apart from some areas in Southern and Western Provinces. However, a ban on the export of maize and maize products is still in place in an effort to stabilize mealie meal prices across the country, but may be lifted in September 2016. FEWS Net reports that the 2016/17 marketing season has opened with maize prices well above the recent five-year average in April and May though some reductions in prices are expected in the short term as a result of the harvest and the export ban. Prices are likely to remain very high due to strong demand for Zambian maize since most of the southern Africa region is facing large maize production deficits this marketing year.3

IV. Analysis Election years have a tendency to not only disrupt normal processes but the implementation of key development projects. In many of the areas in which our partners implement the FACT program, there has been a sense of unease in the perceptions of the governance and accountability work. After the Nyimba District Dialogue Forum, staff were unnecessarily queried on the nature and motivation for doing the public dialogues, by Patriotic Front (PF) supporters. This negative reaction to dialogue and the continued stifling of opposing views can have a negative impact on FACT’s work to enhance participation and oversight of services by citizens. To counter such questioning and suspicion of the project activities Counterpart and its partners will continue to clearly state that FACT is politically neutral. While an election year presents an opportunity for broadening the accountability of political parties to their manifesto and development agenda, this year’s campaign is not generally creating a conducive environment for engagement and dialogue among different actors.

Despite these challenges the Public Dialogue forums conducted this quarter have been a tremendous success in bringing citizens, civil society, service providers, traditional leaders together with government line ministries and the office the of District Commissioners, and creating a platform to explore some of the key challenges to development in all the four districts of Kafue, Chipata, Nyimba and Shibuyunji. It is interesting and rewarding to see the enthusiasm exhibited by all. The PDFs have been a success in creating positive linkages with the District Commissioner offices, the local councils, and government line ministry departments responsible for service delivery. The PDFs have also increased collaboration with other CSOs and NGOs in the districts, and developed our understanding of how to depoliticize the forum discussions. Most importantly, the PDFs provided a platform for communities affected by failures in policy standards to tell their stories and for them to hear back from government officials regarding the limitations that contribute to failures in service delivery. There’s been a high level of appreciation from community members in coming together in a dialogue.

However, it is important to note also that this is just the beginning, and some of the positive gains might be reversed post-election with the in-coming of new policies and new faces in the decision making structures at both district, provincial and national levels. FACT will need, through its strategic partnerships with the local partners to continue to engage with the government officials and other key decision making bodies to reestablish these relationships later in the year, and cement established ones where there’s continuity. Challenges remain in establishing strategic engagements that build greater trust for criticism and in reducing cynicism on the part of government officials to calls for change instigated by citizens and CSOs. When this happens, it will enable changes in the way that public services are delivered and accounted for.

Education Given the role ZANEC is playing in leading civil society engagement in the review of the situational assessment of Ministry of General Education and inputting into the NIF IV and the 7th National Development Plan processes, there’s a good opportunity for FACT to influence developments in the education sector through the planned sub- award to ZANEC. Partnering with ZANEC will allow FACT to directly contribute to the process of policy implementation, monitoring and influencing change.

Health To build on the progress made in getting more people on to antiretroviral treatment efforts are being made to

3 Zambia Food Security Outlook: June 2016 to January 2017. Available at: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Final_ZM_FSO_2016_06_1.pdf. Accesed11/07/2016 7 extend the delivery of HIV care services from health facilities into the community. This may assist in increasing the uptake of HIV testing by men who are often reluctant to seek health services. FACT will work with TALC to ensure that HIV testing especially among men is prioritised in health service planning. Having a consistent supply chain of HIV test kits and antiretroviral drugs down to facility level is essential in providing a quality service especially as steps are taken to expand the reach and numbers of people accessing services. FACT will continue to monitor any problems in the supply of test kits and antiretroviral drugs in the districts FACT works in.

The launch of the “End Child Marriage” national strategic plan of action is a welcome step to harmonise the national response and will contribute to opening opportunities for girls and their families to better health, education and livelihoods options. FACT will continue to monitor and explore opportunities for greater engagement in line with the End Child Marriages strategy as it pertains to girls’ education and the provision of maternal and child health services.

Environment The launch of the World Bank Groups’ Scaling Solar program in Zambia presents an opportunity for closing the gap between electricity generation and demand on the national grid which continues to result in power cuts on a daily basis for those Zambian households, health facilities, schools, organisations and businesses that are connected to the national power grid. Closing the electricity generation gap would potentially ease demand for charcoal that is produced unsustainably. The coal project in Southern province is an opportunity to increase energy options for the economy. Suffice to say that coal has higher greenhouse gas emission rates than most fossil fuels. It should also be remembered that most Zambians live off grid and have no access to electricity. The most significant energy need of most Zambian households is for cooking and this need is met through the use of firewood and charcoal which is leading to high rates of deforestation. The lack of access to electricity also affects the ability of households to enhance their livelihoods, limits their access to information, and prevents children from studying in the evenings.

The current ban on maize exports presents an opportunity for government to replenish grain stocks in the country, and avoid food shortages and unreasonable price increases especially in the rural and border towns, where prices are increasing due to shortfalls in the neighboring countries of Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Malawi. However, the export ban needs to be balanced against the need to ensure that farmers are able to benefit from higher prices in the region and are incentivized to increase yields and commercialize production.

8 V. Summary of Activities This section of the quarterly report provides details of activities and progress made in the third quarter of FY16.

Objective 1 Updates: Result Area 1.1: Increased strategic capacity of civil society organizations to foster citizen engagement.

CSO Selection and Performance Grants: In the third quarter of FY16, FACT continued to support and monitor sub-grants to Rise Community Aid Program (RICAP), Treatment Advocacy and Literacy Campaign (TALC), Women for Change (WfC), Zambia Interfaith Networking Group (ZINGO), and Zambia Open Community Schools (ZOCS). The agreements of five of the partners expire in November 2016. Counterpart continues to review the progress of the implementation of the sub-awards and is working with partners in developing plans for future implementation and possible amendments to the agreements beyond the currently agreed period.

An agreement with Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) was signed on April 19th 2016. COMACO has since started implementing activities under FACT with a focus on environmental management, working with farmer cooperatives in Lundazi, Chipata, and Mambwe districts in Eastern Province bringing the total number of CSO partners to six. COMACO’s ‘Governance and Leadership in Environmental Management in Eastern Province Project’ aims to strengthen the farmer cooperatives, community resource boards, and traditional leaders to give leadership in sustainable natural resource management in conjunction with the District Advisory Management Committees. This will be linked to improving access to farmer support services. Some of the key activities under the project are to; strengthen the role of female leaders in the cooperatives, conduct provincial roundtable meetings, hold district forums in the 3 districts and one at provincial level, conduct 6 advisory management committee meetings, and support community visits/inspections by district leaders.

Local CSOs Receiving funding and technical support through FACT:

Organisation Project Name Sectors Districts Covered Community Markets Governance and Leadership in Eastern Province: Environment, conservation for Conservation Environmental Management in Chipata, Lundazi, and agriculture (COMACO) Eastern Province Mambwe Health (HIV/AIDS, Nutrition, MCH and family Community Advocacy Rise Community Aid Planning) Lusaka Province: Strengthening & Accountability Program (RICAP) Kafue Project (CASA-Project) Education (Government and Community Schools) Treatment Advocacy Enhancing Accountability and Health Lusaka Province: and Literacy Transparency in ART, maternal (Nutrition, HIV/AIDS, Shibuyunji Campaign and Child Health service Family Planning and Lusaka (TALC) delivery in Zambia MCH) Women for Change Community-led Sustainable Environment and Natural Eastern Province: (WFC) Forest Management Resource Management Petauke Lusaka province: Zambia Interfaith Citizen Engagement for Health (Maternal and Child Lusaka Networking Group Fostering Transparency and Health, HIV Eastern Province: (ZINGO) Accountability (CEFTA) Nyimba Fostering Accountability and Zambia Open Transparency in service Eastern Province: Community Schools Education delivery for Community Chipata (ZOCS) Schools (FACT-SEDECS)

9 CSO Capacity Assessments and Institutional Strengthening Counterpart undertook an analysis of the findings from the Participatory Organisational Development Assessments (PODAs) and action plans for the design of the capacity development plan for the reminder of FY16 and FY17. The plan has been completed and ready for roll-out with some activities planned for August and September 2016.

Recognizing our commitment to mainstreaming youth4 and other marginalized groups, a youth mainstreaming assessment guide was developed and administered with our partners to explore their capacities in youth integration at organizational, community and board governance level. FACT considers youth to be in the age range of 15 to 24 years. Some of the issues identified include: • Only one of the partners had a functional youth policy but there is a willingness from the others with support to develop youth policies. • All partners lacked a defined system of support for youth participation in program activities. • Youth are generally treated in an ad hoc manner though a number of organisations have youth among their volunteers. There is often no formal strategy or management guide on youth involvement and deployment. • All the partners felt that youth lack the skills and knowledge to be involved in an advocacy agenda. Counterpart will strengthen youth participation by supporting CSO partners to develop youth policies and address the perceived lack of skills and knowledge in advocacy among youth through training and mentoring.

Capacity building The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer, Van Credle, from Counterpart’s headquarters in Washington, visited FACT’s management team and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Officer to further strengthen FACT’s M&E systems and processes. During her visit, Van conducted an M&E training workshop for the partners, that covered knowledge management systems, prepared partners for Data Quality Assessment (DQA) and equipped them with interviewing skills for qualitative research in order to build partner capacity and lay the foundation for the upcoming Most Significant Change training and process orientation, and the Score Card process orientation.

Partners have finalized their gender action plans. A review will be done in the coming quarter with a view of addressing issues identified in FY17.

An analysis was conducted of the findings from the PODAs and action plans for the design of the capacity development plan for the reminder of FY16 and early FY17. The plan mainly focuses on three organisation development components; leadership looking at strategic direction and inclusive leadership, program management and quality control which is looking at technical skills, knowledge management and learning for program improvement, and strengthening partner external relations including with the government and media.

Counterpart staff also continued their regular support to the partners through regular interactions. This includes participation in partner events, face to face meetings and mentoring. The finance team conducted an orientation for the new finance manager at RICAP. With the ongoing support many of the partners have improved both their narrative reports and financial reporting. In addition, reports are being submitted in a timelier manner.

Cascading Capacity Building TALC conducted training in the Public Social Accountability Monitoring to the members of various community groups including People Living with HIV (PLHIV), Safe Motherhood Action Groups (SMAGs), and Neighbourhood Health Committees (NHC) in Lusaka. This training equips members of these community structures to monitor how health services are being delivered.

RICAP conducted a civic engagement training for traditional leaders and community leaders in Kafue. Traditional leaders play an important role in the governance of their communities and through this training the traditional leaders will be able to advocate together with their citizens for improved services in education and health.

Women for Change (WfC) trained peer educators in gender, critical analysis, advocacy and governance. WfC included a ZAWA officer as one of the training facilitators. This officer explained how the community is meant to financially benefit from hunting licenses which was an eye opener for the community members being trained as peer educators. In addition, with the peer educators now trained, WfC conducted peer educator-led community

4 For FACT youth are defined as being aged 15 to 24 years 10 meetings to raise awareness on joint forest management.

COMACO convened farmer cooperatives and community leaders from 5 communities in Chipata, Lundazi and Mambwe districts along with representatives from the ministry of agriculture staff to introduce the project and go over the project objectives. There was discussion with the farmer cooperatives of farming conservation and environment related issues in the three districts of Chipata, Lundazi and Mambwe.

ZOCS provided training to community school student representatives on the formation of student councils and discussed advocacy skills as well as orientating them on their roles and responsibilities as student councils in school governance. The student councils provide a structure through which students at community schools can voice their concerns of how their education is being delivered.

In total the six partners have mobilised 46 communities in districts in Lusaka and Eastern Provinces and actively built the capacity of community based organisations and structures in these communities.

Progress against Work Plan Result 1.1 Milestones FY16 Work plan Milestone Progress to date at end of Third Quarter Select CSOs and design, review, and award grants An award agreement was finalised with October 2015 - July 2016 COMACO, the sixth agreement with local CSOs. Counterpart continues to review the progress of the implementation of the sub-awards and is working with partners in developing plans for future implementation and possible amendments to the agreements beyond the currently agreed period. Conduct CSO Capacity Assessments and Institutional Capacity building plan finalized based on Strengthening training October 2015 – September 2016 previously completed PODAs and action plans with the six local CSOs. Training in Capacity building and Advocacy & Social This training was conducted in December 2015 Accountability skills October 2015 Constituency Development and Training October 2015 – Training combined with Advocacy and Social September 2016 Accountability training in December 2015 Public Dialogue Forums October 2015, January 2016, Public Dialogues conducted in four districts – March 2016, May 2016 – July 2016 more details in section on result area 2.1 Analyzing Public Dialogue Forums Results and defining Re-scheduled for Quarter 4 Policy Issue Agenda March 2016, July 2016

Result Area 1.2: Sustainable strategic alliances and issue-based partnerships developed among CSOs Reinforce cross-sectoral advocacy networks and coalitions Counterpart took forward the proposals for additional civil society organisation (CSOs) to partner with to advance advocacy for improved service delivery at provincial and national levels. Counterpart, through a competitive process, is identifying CSOs and coalitions who can lead such advocacy in the focus sectors of FACT. A Request for Application (RFA) for partnering with Networks and Coalitions under FACT was issued in the second quarter. After a one-day proposal development workshop in March, 2016, seven full proposals were received, reviewed and four were selected. These were Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR), Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC), The Non-Governmental Organizations Coordinating Council (NGOCC) and Zambia Alliance for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (ZAMNCH).

The standards for a successful procurement were still not fully met so a further design workshop was hosted on 9th and 10th May, 2016 with the four shortlisted applicants. The workshop strengthened the project designs in terms of utilising the attributes of a coalition approach compared to working as a single organisation, and increased the focus on provincial and national level advocacy rather than community level interventions. Of the four applicants,

11 ZAMNCH was withdrawn due to unresolved differences between the alliance members on who should lead the project. NGOCC has so far failed to fully respond to the issues raised to ensure that the final proposal was comprehensively clear. Counterpart is continuing to engage with NGOCC to resolve these issues. The CSPR and ZANEC proposals were finalised and pre-awards assessments conducted during this third quarter. A procurement memo has been drafted for the approval process to commence for CSPR and ZANEC with USAID.

In anticipation of providing support to build the capacity of coalitions coming on board with FACT, the Participatory Organizational Development Assessment (PODA) tool Counterpart uses was reviewed and adapted for the effective assessment of coalition partners. Some of the areas that have been modified are the parameters dealing with leadership, programme design and cultivation of relationships.

The Social Accountability Network in Zambia continues to hold monthly meetings to share experiences and best practices. The most consistent members of the network include Action Aid, World Vision, Save the Children, Plan International, Care International, BBC Media Action, Zambia Governance Foundation, British Council, Voluntary Services Overseas, Restless Development, and CSPR, while other INGOs and local NGOs attend from time to time. Terms of Reference for the group have been developed with a view of strengthening the sustainability of the network and ensure that the membership takes ownership of the network rather than seeing it as a Counterpart convened group. Various initiatives have been discussed such as mapping social accountability projects being implemented in Zambia, hosting a Social Accountability conference and aggregating evidence from different social accountability projects to strengthen lobbying of government on specific service delivery issues. It is hoped that the network will agree specific steps to take forward these initiatives in the coming quarter.

Counterpart’s Education Governance Officer, James Kayamba, continues as the co-chair of the Project Coordination Committee (PCC) at the Ministry of General Education (MoGE). This committee brings together leading civil society organisations in the field of education with the MoGE and is influential in framing and monitoring policy development and implementation. FACT feeds into the PCC evidence and experiences on the quality of service delivery in community schools while getting updates from the ministry and other committee members on the implementation of education programmes. The major issues for FACT to influence at the PCC are the development of the National Education Policy and the equitable inclusion of community schools in the Ministry of General Education.

RICAP conducted one Focus Group Discussion (FGD) to establish levels of awareness and participation among stakeholders in Kafue of holding local service providers to account. RICAP formed a coalition of advocacy based organizations with an MoU drawn and signed. Members have been drawn from a number of civil society organisations active in Kafue. The initial benefit of the coalition is to share information.

ZINGO conducted two stakeholders’ meetings on MCH (in Lusaka and Nyimba). These brought together community representatives that have been trained and supported by ZINGO together with representatives from health facilities. More information on the issues discussed are found under Result Area 2.1.

TALC held two Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with NHCs, SMAGS and people living with HIV to agree on the indicators to monitor ART, maternal and child health service delivery.

Progress against Work Plan Result 1.2 Milestones FY16 Work plan Milestone Progress to date at end of Third Quarter Reinforcing Cross Sectoral Advocacy & Coalitions Coalition and network partners’ procurement ONAs conducted April – May 2016, Network process progressed with CSPR and ZANEC strengthening plans developed and implementation proposals finalised. The NGOCC proposal is being revised based on started June – September 2016 Counterpart’s reviews and feedback. Social Accountability Network established. Facilitating Alliances with Private Sector June 2016 Some representation of private sector in the district Public Dialogue Forums and also TALC engaged private sector in Shibuyunji district. Further work on engagement with the Private sector will take place in Quarter 4.

12 Objective 2 Updates: Result Area 2.1: Strengthened citizen oversight in the delivery of education, health/HIV, sustainable rural livelihoods and environment activities in targeted areas Counterpart undertook a procurement process for a consultancy to assist FACT with the implementation of the Community Score Card methodology. The procurement process was being concluded as the quarter ended and the score card training to FACT’s local CSO partners and roll out to the communities where FACT is implementing will begin during the 4th quarter.

Service Delivery Issues The local CSOs working with community structures and citizens to provide oversight of service delivery have identified a range of deficiencies in the provision of services.

In Nyimba, the following issues regarding the provision of Mother and Child Health (MCH) services have been reported by ZINGO; long distances between communities and health facilities, abusive behaviour of health workers towards pregnant women, hospital cleaners forcing newly delivered mothers to clean floors of shed blood, and unqualified staff doing health worker roles. These issues were verified with health facility management. In Lusaka, expectant mothers wanting to deliver in a health facility were expected to supply their own materials such as buckets and cotton wool. The associated costs prevented some expectant mothers from giving birth at the health facility.

TALC identified issues with health services in Shibuyunji such as malnourished PLHIV and children not receiving food supplements, bad attitudes of health workers towards clients, lack of laboratory equipment, lack of running water in labour wards, lack of mobile HIV services to outlying communities, no mother shelter at maternity facility, inadequate numbers of qualified health workers and a lack of accommodation for health personnel. In April, TALC reported that clients in Shibuyunji and Lusaka districts were receiving ART drugs with an expiry date for that same month. Health facility staff blamed Medical Stores for failing to fulfil the requests submitted by health facilities. TALC participated in an ARV quantification meeting in April where TALC raised concerns regarding shortages of HIV test kits and drug rationing to clients that resulted in clients having to go more frequently to health facilities to collect medication. Subsequent engagement with Medical Stores indicated that there were adequate stocks of test kits and ARV drugs but distribution to health facilities was the issue.

COMACO reported a number of issues that are impacting natural resource management: Breweries failing to replace trees cut for use in beer brewing, due process not being followed in the issuing of forest product licenses, the need for various government departments to harmonise policies regarding natural resource management, the need for more intensive patrols in Chipata district in coordination with national parks to control charcoal production, conservation measures to be put in place with tobacco and cotton companies, relocation of forest and national park encroachers, and a need for improved communication between chiefs and the District Commissioner regarding natural resource exploitation and law enforcement. These issues are being discussed and addressed at the roundtable that is part of the Valley Ecosystem Partnership Management Initiative which COMACO participates in along with government officials, traditional leaders and civil society actors.

ZOCS in Chipata district have been advocating on a number of issues related to community schools. In February ZOCS published a report concerning the upgrading of community school based on research conducted by the Institute of Economic and Social Research, University of Zambia.5 The research found that there was confusion regarding what the upgrading of community schools actually means and that though guidelines for upgrading community schools have been developed these have not been published. This means though the upgrading of community schools has commenced it is being done in the absence of a clear implementation, monitoring and evaluation framework. ZOCS is calling on the government provide a planning, implementation and M&E Framework for the upgrading of community schools.

ZOCS also found that students from community schools are treated poorly when they go to the examination centres in government schools to write their exams including having to write their exams while seated on the floor. RICAP

5 Upgrading of Community Schools in Zambia Baseline Report, ZOCS and Institute of Economic and Social Research, February 2016

13 in Kafue district raised a concern of teachers reporting to work drunk.

Public forums During the period under review, FACT supported four local partners: RICAP, ZOCS, ZINGO and TALC to host and facilitate the Public District Dialogue Forums (PDFs) in the districts of Kafue, Chipata, Nyimba and Shibuyunji respectively. The format and process of the PDFs was similar in all four districts with representations from government through the District Commissioner’s office, the District Education Boards, the District Health Management Teams, the local authorities and councils, community based organizations working on the sector theme, youth representatives, representation from marginalised communities, key community leaders, and private sector representatives.

RICAP worked with Counterpart to host the district PDF in Kafue District. The PDF explored the issues of health policy and standards at facility level. A key issue raised was the need for greater synergy between different health departments in the services they deliver. Health personnel need a broader understanding of the health service policies and standards rather than just focusing on their particular area. This would provide a more joined up and comprehensive provision of health services. An example given was the HIV protocols vis-à-vis maternal health protocols. The system is set up in such a way that the client is seen by different health providers for the two services which can lead to information or treatment protocols being lost between the two services.

An issue raised by health providers was they are not always aware of what protocols or standards exist because information is not distributed or accessible. One of the presenters was a man with a disability. The presenter highlighted that some clinics have poor access for persons with disability such as wheelchair users or Figure 1 A representative of the People Living with others using crutches. He went on to say persons with disability Disability stressing the importance of inclusion for the are not included in decision making and attributed this to negative disabled. attitudes that prevent inclusion of persons with disabilities.

An action plan was developed at the end of the meeting. Key aspects were to address low levels of policy awareness among both service providers and the community and that relevant health policies should be shared with all stakeholders and sensitization conducted. The meeting also resolved to prioritise inclusion of persons with disability in health planning by ensuring that they are invited to meetings, are part of dialogues and engage with decision makers such as the DMO. The forum recognized the importance of the public having access to information such as progress of health projects by maintaining records and providing updates. Information, and education are particularly important during outbreaks of cholera and other diseases through community meetings, and radio presentations.

In Chipata district, Counterpart worked with ZOCS to convene a district PDF focused on the state of community schools and the government policy on the sustainable and quality provision of schooling through community schools. One of the presenters at the forum was Ida, a learner from a Community School. She bemoaned the challenges faced by pupils which included lack of safe drinking water, and poor sanitation. In some instances, boys and girls used the same toilet, which resulted in challenges for the girls in menstrual hygiene. Ida continued to explain that there are not enough teachers, books are in short supply and there’s a shortage of desks. Sometimes a text book is shared between 20 pupils. Children sit on stones making Figure 2 Ida brings a community school pupil's it difficult to concentrate on learning. The forum questioned as to why perspective at the Chipata PDF the District Education Board Secretariat (DEBS) seemed to believe that community schools were solely the communities’ responsibility despite community schools falling under the Ministry’s Directorate for Open Schools & Distance Learning.

14 It was noted that Government policy recognizes the valuable contribution that community schools provide and that they are a legitimate and important component of the government’s educating our future strategy. It was also stated that there’s a need to recognize pupils at community schools as having a human right to education. It was suggested that infrastructure needs could be met from Constituency Development Funds (CDF). The DEBS was asked what they were doing about schools being built on disputed land without title deeds. The dialogue examined how resources are distributed to the community schools, the mechanisms for communities to establish and register community schools, the roles and responsibilities of various actors in community school management and operations, and how government through the ministry of general education contributes to the sustainability of the community schools model.

The Chipata district PDF concluded with clear actionable points to take forward to solve some of the pressing challenges being faced by community schools. The actions agreed were to improve classrooms, provide desks and school equipment, improve water and sanitation and provide teaching and learning materials. The action plan also included addressing the problem of community schools not having permanent land/title deeds. Plans to sensitise community members on the roles of different stakeholders and the procedures to start a community school were also included.

The Chipata PDF was attended by Greg Saili Governance Advisor and the Agreement Officer’s Representative (AOR) for FACT and Edward Demarco Democracy and Governance Cross Sector Advisor from Office of Democracy, Rights and Governance at USAID Zambia. Subsequent to the forum, the US Embassy issued a press release on June 6th to highlight FACT’s milestone in holding the public dialogue forum on education in Chipata with the notable visibility of top district officials including the Chipata District Commissioner Kalunga Zulu, who in his opening remarks urged residents and education officials to work towards better learning conditions for students at 80 community schools.

Counterpart worked with ZINGO in Nyimba District to conduct the district PDF which focused on Citizens’ rights to health. The agenda included presentations for the District Health Office on policies and practices, service delivery issues presented from Simaba Village’s REFLECT Circle, the perspectives from a Maternity/ Labour ward service provider and issues affecting youths. Mr. Phiri, a REFLECT Circle member stated that people have to cover some 10km to Chfukuzi clinic. It was felt that mothers are heavily burdened to cover this distance which is beyond the MoH stipulated distance of 5km and that this could explain the high numbers of home births. The distance also made it difficult for mothers to have their children attend under five clinics. Ms. Banda, a youth activist, focused her discussion on family planning (FP) on the premise that all women have the right to access family planning information and services. She highlighted that different methods of family planning caused various Figure 3 Ms. Banda – A youth activist in Nyimba side effects and as a result, a careful choice of method was required. She District presenting at the PDF explained that there was limited information on family planning. It was claimed that practitioners typically impose their choices of FP methods without considering other alternatives. It was reported that unmarried women have attracted unwarranted comments from hospital staff when they sought family planning advice. The PDF also provided a forum to raise awareness of key aspects of government health policy to community leaders and citizens. The forum was also used by community based organisations to lobby for increased space for pre and post-natal care at Nyimba district hospital.

The action plan developed at the end of the meeting committed to undertake community sensitization programmes about maternal and child health, gender based violence and human rights. The plan also included measures to address the problem of inadequate space at Nyimba hospital for antenatal, neo-natal and post-natal services as well as the poor sanitary conditions of the maternity ward. The next action concerned the need for more health workers in the district. Finally, the construction of a health post in Simaba was included.

The fourth PDF took place in Shibuyunji district in Lusaka Province in partnership with TALC. The theme for the PDF was “Addressing gaps in health service delivery in Shibuyunji District”. The focus was on two critical issues; namely the lack of a mothers’ shelter at Nampundwe Rural Health Centre (NHRC), and secondly the need to

15 upgrade NRHC to a District Health Clinic in order to improve health service delivery. Mrs. Banda, representing people living with HIV, raised the challenge being faced by women living with HIV who need to give birth in the clinic in order to assure the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission. A mothers’ shelter will allow for mothers to be close to the clinic when they are nearly due so as to assure a clinic delivery. She stated how home births and ‘on-the-way to the clinic’ births were not good for HIV positive mothers.

She also raised the challenge regarding the lack of laboratory testing facilities such as a CD4 counting machine. CD4 cells are a type of white blood cells that play a major role in protecting your body from infection that get reduced by HIV and so need to monitored in PLWH. She concurred with other speakers that upgrading the clinic would be beneficial in availing laboratory facilities and equipment. The main priority agreed for action at the end of the forum was the construction of a mothers’ shelter at Nampundwe Rural Health Centre. Various steps involved in organizing the construction were shared among stakeholders with the District Health Officer leading. The other area for action was increasing the coverage of boreholes in the area to reduce the labour burden on women.

With actions plans agreed at the end of each of the district dialogues there’s a way forward to address some of the problems affecting service delivery in the four districts. The existence of the action plans will provide a basis for communities to follow up on the issues and hold service providers and local authorities accountable for progressing the solutions agreed at the forum.

In addition to the district level PDFs, the local CSOs partnering with Counterpart also conducted various fora at community level. In order to create linkages to the larger policy work, ZINGO has formed Lobbying and Advocacy Groups (LAGs) that work with the REFLECT circles to identify key issues to be brought to the attention of the health facility management and the district health management teams (DHMT) in Nyimba and Lusaka. ZINGO organised three open dialogue forums between the LAGs and hospital officers to discuss maternal and child health (MCH) issues. Strong links have been developed through these forums with the district medical officer and the district commissioner in Nyimba. The LAG there toured the maternal and child facilities leading to Reverend Bwalya, a member of the LAG, to comment “It was my first time to be taken on a tour of the district hospital MCH facilities and I was struck by what I saw. There is only one room for all the MCH services”.

RICAP held one “Ulukamantano” Public dialogue forum bringing together community members together with the health care workers. The dialogue contributes to a greater understanding between the service users and the service providers.

ZOCS held a forum between the District Education Board Secretary (DEBS) in Chipata and the community school representative group known as the District Advocacy Committee (DAC). Six community schools were represented and an action plan was drawn to engage with policy makers on identified issues. As a result of the engagement with DEBS, the community school in Chisuto, Chipata was granted examination status. The DAC has also been invited to participate in the District Development Coordinating Committee (DDCC) which influences various developmental issues in the district.

TALC held a focus group discussion in Shibuyunji district with members of the Neighbourhood Health Committees, Safe Motherhood Action Groups, PLWH support group, youth club, the private sector and other stakeholders. The meeting led to the formation of a task team and a number of actions being agreed. One of the issues to be addressed was that the water taps at the Nampundwe rural health clinic were not working. Soon after the meeting in May this issue was addressed and running water has now been restored at the clinic.

COMACO participates in semi-annual roundtables for the Eastern Province that supports the Luangwa Valley Ecosystem Partnership Management Initiative. The roundtable brings together government officers including District Commissioners, their representatives, district forestry officers, traditional leaders and civil society leaders. Issues discussed include formation of a taskforce to oversee conservation programs at Chiefdom level, illegal settlements in national parks, illegal charcoal production, poaching, climate smart agriculture and other natural resource management issues.

16 Progress against Work Plan Result 2.1 Milestones FY16 Work plan Milestone Progress for year by end of Third Quarter Assessing Government Engagement and Local CSOs regularly engage with local government Opportunities for Dialogue October 2015 – officials and service providers. September 2016 Civic Education training in Health, Rights, Education Civic Education training will take place in Q4 and Environment Management February 2016, April 2016, July 2016 Developing Social Accountability Approaches Social Accountability approaches are being November 2015 – September 2016 implemented by FACT’s local CSO partners through community level dialogues provide oversight and identify deficiencies in services that are discussed between the service users and the service providers Score cards will be rolled out in 4th quarter. Implementing local public forums January 2016 – Four District level PDFs have been completed. September 2016 Given the campaigning for the general and presidential elections, the provincial and national PDFs have been moved to FY17 post-election and possible presidential run off.

Results Area 2.2 Increased grassroots civil society participation in the education, health/HIV, sustainable livelihood and environment sectors Community structures have been established and continue to be strengthened in 46 communities to facilitate the engagement and participation of citizens with service providers and government decision makers. These are the grassroots structures where community members participate such as Community Resource Boards (CRB), farmer cooperatives, Neighbourhood Health Committees (NHC), REFLECT circles, Parent Community School Committees (PCSC), and Student Councils. Much of the strengthening of these community based organisations and structures is described in the cascading capacity building section of this report under Result Area 1.1. As Counterpart’s local CSO partners strengthen the various community structures, they facilitate meetings and forums where community representatives from these groups can voice the issues they have identified in the provision of services in health, education, natural resource management and other related services.

TALC continues to strengthen the community structures in Shibuyunji and Lusaka districts through the training of NHCs, SMAGs & Support groups of People living with HIV. The training included health service delivery monitoring using Score Cards. However, it is noted with concern that engagement with one health facility in Chelstone Lusaka broke down when the sister in charge came across a news article in the Daily Nation newspaper that highlighted problems with the services being delivered at the facility. TALC is unaware of how the newspaper picked up the story and is working with the District Medical Officer to resolve the issue so that the engagement of citizens with the facility management can resume.

ZINGO has continued to facilitate the REFLECT circles as their main means of community sensitization and mobilization efforts. At a REFLECT session conducted in Simaba community in Nyimba Mr. Phiri lamented “We know that nothing could really be done in the short term to deal with the issue of distance to the health facility but our mothers, sisters and wives should receive better services when they walk this distance to the Chifuukuzi rural health center”. Another community member stated “My son passed away on the way from the clinic to Nyimba after struggling to get the referral to Nyimba District Hospital”. When these reports were escalated through the Lobbying and Advocacy Groups (LAGs), the District Commissioner and the District Medical Officer held a meeting to interact with the service recipients. Furthermore, the District Commissioner undertook a monitoring visit to Chifuukuzi rural health centre to establish the causes of the complaints coming from the community. The District Commissioner has requested the Chiefs and Traditional Leaders to report challenges being faced by the community so that government can respond accordingly. It is hoped that consistent feedback from the community and monitoring of service quality at the facility will result in better service delivery.

Women for Change has formed a total of four community resource boards (CRBs) in Petauke district to aid the community management of natural resources in the forests. The forestry officer reported improved engagement 17 with communities more readily reporting cases of unauthorized timber cutting.

ZOCS built on the previously established district advocacy committee (DAC) and trained students to establish the Student Councils in six schools in Chipata. The role of the Student Councils is to enhance the participation and monitoring role of students in school management and governance. The District Advocacy Committee (DAC) established by ZOCS in Chipata to enhance government engagement with citizens on issues related to community schools continued with its sensitization work.

ZOCS reached out to 3884 (1899 male and 1985 female) children at sensitization meetings at six (6) community meetings. The main objective of the meetings was to highlight the importance of the Student Councils, and the need for support from all stakeholders of this new initiative. After introductions of the ZOCS and the Provincial Planner, the community watched a drama performance depicting the important role Student Councils can play in the governance of the school. After the drama performance there was a facilitated discussion.

At the end of the meeting the Provincial Planner highlighted the need for Community Schools to open Figure 4: A community member contributes at Magazine Community School sensitization meeting, 22.05.16 bank accounts in order for them to access grants from government. The sensitisation meetings were followed by ZOCS meeting with the PCSCs and student councils to agree the way forward on issues identified. Student Councils were already demonstrating their value in the management and development of their schools. One example being at Magazine Academy Community School where the council took the initiative to improve the school toilets to protect girls’ privacy and hygiene.

Attendance at Community Sensitization Meeting: Name of Learners Learners Teachers Teachers PCSC PCSC Student Student Community (M) (F) (M) (F) (M) (F) Council Council School (M) (F) Madalitso 224 265 0 4 5 8 5 5 Chisitu 427 466 7 6 4 6 Magazine 305 312 5 8 3 7 Christian Magazine CMA 151 142 6 7 4 8 Chisomo 487 525 12 4 6 7 5 5 Streamside Chiyembekezo 151 105 5 8 6 4 TOTAL 1745 1815 12 8 34 44 27 35

COMACO implemented their first key activities under the grant that included an orientation of the farmer cooperatives to the objectives and activities of the recently approved COMACO project with FACT. COMACO has begun mobilisation and orientation of the cooperatives for the accountability and transparency activities of FACT in five communities to date in the districts of Chipata, Lundazi, and Mambwe in Eastern Province.

MEDIA Community Radio FACT is utilising community radio stations for disseminating key civic education messages. RICAP conducted a total of seven “Kambani” (Have your say) phone-in programs on Kafue Community Radio Station. The radio has a coverage radius of about 50km from Kafue town. The radio programs discuss issues related to the health and education services being delivered. Topics have included; drug stock outs, attitudes of health workers, policy awareness, the roles and responsibilities of NHCs and Parent Teacher Associations, and inclusiveness of people with disabilities. Panelists have included health workers, and the District Education Board Secretariat (DEBS).

ZOCS has worked with Breeze FM in Chipata to air ten programs focusing on community schools. Breeze FM broadcasts across Chipata, Lundazi, Mambwe and Katete districts in the Eastern province and so radio extends significantly the reach of FACT to communities beyond where FACT is directly implementing interventions. 18 Topics covered included; budgetary allocations to community schools, challenges faced by community schools, policy provisions in the education sector and the work of the District Advocacy Committee (DAC) on advocating for enhanced support to community schools. Parents and learners have shared their perspectives as those accessing education from community schools, along with members of the Parent Community Schools Committee (PCSC). Teachers and representatives of the DEBS have shared the service provider’s viewpoint.

Progress against Work Plan Result 2.2 Milestones: FY16 Work plan Milestone Progress for year by end of Third Quarter Action plans were developed for the four PDFs conducted in Mobilizing communities and Strategic the four districts. Partners will work to follow up on their Planning October 2015 – September 2016 implementation.

Citizen engagement with government at community level Enhancing Citizen-Government engagement continued with partners establishing new structures such as mechanisms November 2015 – September the Student Council of ZOCS. 2016 The Public Dialogue Forums at both district and community levels described in result 2.1 recorded considerable success in being platforms that bring together a diverse range of stakeholders, including government service providers, beneficiary groups, private sector and other community organizations and civic leaders.

VI. Monitoring and Evaluation The monitoring and evaluation section of this report provides information on the progress made this quarter towards the FY16 targets set for the indicators that monitor the progress of FACT.

The local CSOs submit a Monitoring and Evaluation report each month to Counterpart. The reports are reviewed by Counterpart’s Monitoring and Evaluation Officer to check the accuracy and validity of the data. Feedback is provided to the local partners to make corrections or respond to any other queries. Counterpart in the last quarter carried out a DQA with ZINGO. The DQA was carried out based on USAID’s revised tool which was shared by Counterpart International M&E Specialist Van Credle. The DQA revealed that ZINGO was on course with its contribution towards Counterpart Indicators. However, it was noticed that ZINGO did not anticipate the rate at which the RFLECT circles would be demanded for by the community. The REFLECT circle sessions have already exceeded the yearly target. The DQA also revealed that there was a gap in terms of communication between the ZINGO head office in Lusaka and its field office in terms of activity targets. It was recommended that ZINGO head office needs to share the targets with the field staff in advance. DQAs with the remaining 3 sub grantees will be completed in the fourth quarter.

The table on the following pages presents the quantitative data for each indicator and its FY16 target:

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Total FY16 Q2 Indicator Baseline Year 2 Target Progress to Comment Progress date Result Area 1.1: Increased strategic capacity of civil society organizations to foster citizen engagement.

1.1.1 Number of USG assisted CSOs that made written submissions on service 4 2 No partner CSO made a submission this quarter delivery to parliament committees and other government agencies (Custom)

It will only be feasible to report progress towards this indicator in the next FY (FY17) after all capacity 1.1.2 Number of targeted CSOs that building interventions based on the last PODA are show improved advocacy capacity from 12 0 completed in FY16. These are Civic Engagement baseline (Custom) Baseline training, Social Accountability and Advocacy training and a Partners Review Workshop.

1.1.3 Number of programs that get a The Partner Satisfaction survey will be conducted in rating of “satisfactory” or higher on 6 0 Q4. Partner/Grantee Satisfaction survey 1.1.4 Number of organizations that complete at least 2 of their OD gender Partners have finalized their gender action plans. A 6 0 action plan goals within the timeframe of review will be done in the next FY. the action plan

1.1.5 Number of Public policies changed - 0 consistent with CSO advocacy

1.1.6 Key HIV/AIDS-related policies This indicator is still awaiting guidance form USAID. monitored through Policy Tracking 1 0 Once the PTTs are available, the project will begin to Tables (PTTs) provide this data.

20 Total FY16 Indicator Baseline Year 2 Target Q2 Progress Comment Progress to date

COMACO reached out to 5 communities in Chipata where the cooperative leaders were drawn to attend 1.1.7 Number of Communities trainings. These are different from the communities 0 20 COMACO 5 46 Accessing Counterpart Services reached out to by other partners in the previous quarters. In total 46 communities have been mobilized across 6 districts in Lusaka and Eastern Provinces.

1.1.8 # of CSOs receiving USG 24 6 One more CSO (COMACO) was brought on board (8 Health, 8 (Health 3, with a focus on Environmental Management bringing assistance engaged in advocacy 0 interventions Education and 8 Education 2, the total numbers of CSOs to 6 i.e. Women for Change, Environment) Environment 2) RICAP, ZOCS, TALC, ZINGO and COMACO. 24 All the partner CSOs except for Women for Change 1.1.9 # CSOs/Social Organizations/govt. (8 Health, 8 0 40 attending the Qualitative and Social Inclusion Interview agencies assisted Education and 8 Training. Environment)

21 Total FY16 Indicator Baseline Year 2 Target Q2 Progress Comment Progress to date Result Area 1.2: Sustainable strategic alliances and issue-based partnerships developed among CSOs RICAP conducted 1 FGD with the community to establish levels of awareness and participation, Held 1 1.2.1 # of successful cross-sectoral ZINGO 58 13 “Ulukamantano” Public dialogue forum. Conducted 4 advocacy activities undertaken by CSOs 0 40 RICAP 6 “Kambani” (Have your say) phone-in programs on Kafue Community Radio Station. RICAP formed a coalition of advocacy based 1.2.2 Number of networks established 1 RICAP 1 2 organizations with an MoU drawn and signed.

1.2.3 # of networks strengthened 2 0

ZINGO conducted 2 stakeholders’ meetings on MCH (in Lusaka and Nyimba)

1.2.4 # of key stakeholder /local line RICAP held 1 “Ulukamantano” Public dialogue forum ministries, local government ZINGO 2 and 2 information sharing meetings with Networks and planners/private sector 0 18 RICAP 3 16 Coalitions actors/NGOs/donor meetings, workshops COMACO 1 or other forums held COMACO- held a round table meeting to support the Luangwa Valley Ecosystem Partnership Management Initiative. TALC held 2 Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with 1.2.5 # of consensus building NHCs, SMAGS and people living with HIV to agree 0 12 TALC 2 5 processes assisted by USG on the indicators to monitor in ART, maternal and child health service delivery

22 Total FY16 Indicator Baseline Year 2 Target Q2 Progress Comment Progress to date Result Area 2.1: Strengthened citizen oversight in the delivery of education, health/HIV, sustainable rural livelihoods and environment activities in targeted areas 2.1.1 # of CSOs making public 0 3 2 evidence-based recommendations Action plans were developed at the end of the public dialogue forums: ZOCS- 6 communities represented in the DEBS-DAC forum & an action plan was drawn to engage with policy makers on identified issues in the last quarter. As a result 2.1.2 Number of Communities that draft of the engagement with DEBS one community school service improvement action plans 0 20 4 8 was given examination status and the DAC is now sitting on the DDCC. TALC held Shibuyunji district development focus group discussion that resulted in actions on a number of priority health issues. One of which was water not being available at the Nampundwe rural health clinic, water has now been restored. 2.1.3 Change in FACT Social FACT is yet to train grantees in the Community Score 10 - Accountability Score Card Card Methodology.

2.1.4 Number of CSO/ Social The same groups were reached out to by the sub grantees Organization/Government Agencies 18 34 as last quarter. Assisted 2.1.5 # of public forums resulting from ZINGO 3 ZINGO has conducted 3 open dialogue forums, USG assistance in which government 16 0 12 RICAP 1 RICAP held “Ulukamantano” Public dialogue forums in representatives and members of the public identified communities. interact on service delivery issues

Results Area 2.2 Increased grassroots civil society participation in the education, health/HIV, sustainable livelihood and environment sectors 2.2.1 # of women & youths engaged as leaders in civic activities related to service 0 40 140 delivery

23 Total FY16 Indicator Baseline Year 2 Target Q2 Progress Comment Progress to date RICAP trained 20 traditional and community leaders (12 male, 8 female) in civic engagement & social accountability, held information sharing meetings with Networks and Coalitions with 16 (8 male, 8 female) participants in May & 19 (14 male, 5 female) in June. TALC conducted two (2) capacity building workshops for 20 (8 male, 12 female) people from NHCs, SMAGs & support groups of PLWH, in Lusaka in health service delivery monitoring. TALC also held coalition meetings to identify issues to present to NHCs, SMAGs and PLWH RICAP 55 support groups monitoring public health services in TALC 53 Shibuyunji attended by 33 (19 male, 14 female) people. ZOCS 46 ZOCS trained 36 (17 male and 19 female) children in ZOCS 3720 advocacy and 10 traditional leaders (8 male, 2 female) in 2.2.2 # of individuals COMACO social accountability. 5,805 (2823 male strengthened/trained/or participating 0 200 370 and 2982 female) in FACT forums Counterpart ZOCS reached out to 3720 (1818 male and 1902 female) 30 participants with community sensitization and drama awareness sessions. Total 4,274 COMACO trained 63 (31 male & 32 female) cooperative leaders in gender in the value chain, trained 260 cooperative leaders in administering and enforcing conservation plans (172 male and 88 female). Additionally, 47 (38 male and 9 female) people attended the stakeholder roundtable.

Counterpart facilitated an M&E training where 12 people (8 female, 4 male) participated. Counterpart also facilitated a proposal development meeting for coalitions where a total of 18 people (8 male ,10 female) attended. 2.2.3 # of communities accessing COMACO mobilized 5 additional communities in 0 20 5 Counterpart Services 46 the quarter.

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Progress towards the achievement of indicators To date, the FACT project has met or exceeded the target of eight of its FY16 indicators. All three of the targets have been met that relate to Result Area 2.2 that focuses on the increased grassroots civil society participation in the education, health, HIV, sustainable livelihoods and environment sectors. In addition, the following annual targets have been met or exceeded; the number of communities accessing Counterpart services (Indicator 1.1.7), number of CSOs/Social Organizations/govt. agencies assisted (1.1.9), Number of networks established (1.2.2) CBOs assisted (2.1.4), number of public forums resulting from USG assistance in which government representatives and members of the public interact on service delivery issues (2.1.5). Some additional work is needed in the 4th quarter of FY16 to verify which other communities have developed action plans (indicator 2.1.2) and indeed to follow up on the implementation of such plans.

VII. Achievements The major achievement for this quarter were the four district level public dialogue forums that took place. The participation from citizens, civil society, staff from health facilities, schools as well as government officials from district authorities enabled robust and meaningful dialogues concerning the challenges people face in accessing quality services to take place at the forums. These were the first time such dialogues had taken place between service users, service providers and decision makers and there was a general appreciation from both citizens, service providers and decision makers that the exercise was worthwhile, strengthening engagement and bringing greater clarity and understanding to the issues of how services are being delivered. Presentations and participation from marginalised communities such as people living with HIV, persons with disabilities, youth and children demonstrated the inclusive approach that FACT promotes.

As well as these district level engagements, there’s continued progress in the 46 communities where FACT has mobilised communities. Community structures and community based organisations are being mobilised and strengthened. These community-based organisations and groups are starting to take an oversight role in how services are provided and are identifying issues that are affecting their access to quality services. Issues include challenges of long distances to facilities, inadequate staffing, poor attitudes among staff at health facilities towards clients and problems related to poor infrastructure and lack of resources among many other issues. Levels of engagement between citizens, community groups and the service providers have increased. There are some examples from across the communities where this engagement is being welcomed and appreciated by the service providers and local authorities. There are a handful of communities where this increased engagement has led to a material difference in the service provided and identified issues have been resolved. The two examples from this quarter include running water restored at a health facility, and a community school being granted examination status. It is likely other issues have also been resolved however the challenge remains for further follow through on the key issues that have been identified, and holding to account the duty bearers to take required actions.

VIII. Challenges and Lesson Learnt Challenges: While considerable progress has been made in bringing together government, community and civil society to deliberate and find common ground on the key issues at district and community level, the challenge remains in making government officials “uncomfortable” enough to push them from talk to action. It’s clear to see, perhaps due to this being an election year, that many officials who participated in the dialogues demonstrated a paternal attitude. This highlights the need of building not just capacity but also addressing attitudes in government, to deliver on their promises to citizens and uphold basic rights. There’s need to create the organisational culture in state institutions and service providers that things can be better and that the users of services should have a say in how services are delivered. We need public servants that see the feedback and engagement of citizens as legitimate and value adding in achieving the goals Zambia has set itself.

There’s also need to change the practice of service providers and local authorities of not taking responsibility for the services they provide. Instead of taking action to improve staff performance, repair or build facilities there’s a practice of ‘passing the buck’ back to the aggrieved citizen or community who has raised the issue or made a complaint. Authorities with government resources to manage, instead of taking action, demand that communities and citizens find their own solutions to service delivery issues using their own resources. For example, communities can play a role in the construction of a health facility but it’s the government and local authority that have the duty to lead and supply the bulk of resources for such construction.

25 Building a stronger evidence base for the service delivery problems identified is another challenge. The issues identified are genuine and in reality the service providers are aware that these problems exist. However, to create systemic change, FACT with our partners need to move beyond the dialogues, and document evidence to deliver a compelling story. There are so many individual accounts of poor service delivery but these need to be pieced together to show a bigger picture and advocate for a more systemic solution to the problems being experienced. The roll out of the score card methodology in the 4th quarter and into the next financial year will assist in generating a stronger evidence base. Counterpart also plans to continue collaborating with other agencies through the Social Accountability Network to bring together evidence and document learning.

There are situations in which partners have reached a tipping point in their engagements with decision makers but either do not have the capacity to get genuine commitments from them or are too imbued in the status quo to push for additional commitments, and challenge government to deliver quality and inclusive services. FACT needs to broaden partners and staff understanding of what is possible along with enhancing skills in negotiation, conflict resolution and management, the use of evidence, and how shaming is sometimes a suitable and acceptable tactic. Another area for further work is creating a better awareness of the sanctions and incentives that currently exist that hinder greater change and responsiveness from the state and service providers. This links with strengthening the ability of civil society to broker smarter partnerships and create a conducive environment for change among both the community and the government service providers.

During this election campaign period, some activities have been postponed, modified or managed so as not to be deliberately misinterpreted or hijacked by the agendas of political parties. Holding service providers to account is thus currently even more complicated than usual.

Lessons learnt: The persistent question is whether FACT could have achieved greater traction if this had not been an election year, and programming was “normal”. Given that evidence is indicating that this election campaign has been marred by the most violence and intimidation in Zambian election history, would there have seen a greater willingness from government officials to engage and support if they weren’t in a period of elections?

There is a greater need for in-house reflection and learning to enhance programming that continuously remains accountability and transparency focused. This will include keeping FACT’s theory of change and learning questions central to the programme as we support staff to focus on the key parameters of our program. FACT’s civil society partners sometimes just drop the argument with service providers and decision makers due to a prevailing culture of fear and patronage. Increased accompaniment of our partners is required to encourage them to persist in making the case to duty bearers and to continue to demand for action by duty bearers to improve services.

Intentionally ensuring members of marginalised communities were able to present at the PDFs and participate demonstrated the value add that they bring to discussing the realities of services that are often designed and delivered in a one size fits all manner without taking into consideration the different needs of different people. The quality of facilitation at the PDFs has been a challenge so there’s need to develop skill sets among our partners and their stakeholders to have a pool of accomplished facilitators

IX. Priorities for Next Quarter The activities for the fourth quarter of FY16 are represented in Appendix 1 – FY16 Gantt Chart. Priority items include the finalising of sub-awards to civil society coalitions to take forward engagement with government and advocacy at provincial and national levels. Follow through on the action plans and next steps of the public dialogue forums is another important piece of work. The score card methodology and the most significant change approach to capture and document the impacts of FACT will be rolled out. Trainings will take place for FACT’s local CSO partners in civic education and advocacy. An intern will be hired for the coming quarter to work with the local CSO partners to review and improve how they are addressing gender. A meeting will be held with the local CSO implementing partners to review progress, reflect on lessons learnt and plan the way forward including the continuing process of possible modifications and extensions to the sub-awards of these grantees. Planning for FY17 will also be a critical piece of work in the 4th quarter.

Appendix 1 – FY16 Gantt Chart Please refer to the accompanying excel document.

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