Evaluation of Homa Bay Handover MSF OCP, Kenya

In recent years, MSF has recognised the need to improve its handover process and outcomes. It is no longer satisfactory for the organisation to enter a country, put in place a programme and leave without some degree of accountability for what remains after MSF’s departure. This tendency has led the MSF Operational Centre Paris (OCP) to review the handover process of the Homa Bay County Hospital project in Kenya. The main goal of this evaluation is to explore how effective the handover strategy was in contributing to sustainable, comprehensive quality of HIV/TB care in Homa Bay.

Since 1996, MSF OCP has been working in HIV care in Homa Bay County. In 2001, the organisation initiated antiretroviral therapy at Homa Bay Hospital. At that time, the objective was to reduce mortality related to HIV, demonstrate the feasibility of treating a large number of patients in poor resource settings and lobby for increased access to HIV care.

In retrospect, MSF achieved these objectives and in early 2013, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, MSF initiated a handover strategy with a view to end its engagement at Homa Bay Hospital by December 2015. The strategic objective of the Homa Bay County Hospital handover project was to provide an acceptable level of quality of care for HIV & TB patients independent of MSF.