CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS and ANALYSIS
5.4 Problems/Challenges
5.4.2. Funding problems A manager at the HST said
implementation, therefore making it difficult to sustain the project.
Some DOH staff have not fully grasped the INP concept.
They focus on the vegetable gardens, and don't pay much attention to nutrition education.
DOH management was not fully up to date with the program which led to a lot of confusion and conflict.
HST staff received many confusing messages from the district office and provincial office which clashed with the activities set by HST for the program.
Everybody seemed to have their own idea on how the program should work, especially concerning the duties of the volunteers.
Some of the people, for example staff from DOH and Department of Agriculture, viewed this program as extra work in addition to the high workload they already have.
They therefore were not very helpful nor cooperative.
There were clashing and conflicting messages from HST management and DOH management to HST implementing staff.
Team work approach was talked about but not practiced.
The different government departments made promises, but nothing materialized.
Local NGOs only attended meetings to try to access funding from the DOH or the HST.
5.4.2. Funding problems
"Implementation challenges form the most important part of the report to be given to the funders. However, other facilitators of development believe that funders want to hear only the good stories.... Funders want to hear the good, the bad, the
ugly and the solutions to deal with the challenges ".
- HSTINP Management - 23 February 2007
The HST has received funding from different funders over the years. When the DOH (Eastern Cape Province) was the funder, the DOH dictated how the HST should operate when implementing the INP. This caused a lot of confusion for the HST fieldworkers since they had clashing instructions from both the DOH and the HST management. This was evident in the issue of the sizes of the clinic demonstration gardens, where the HST management felt that since the clinic gardens are meant for demonstration purposes, they should be relatively small (50m x 50m). However, the DOH felt that the gardens should be much bigger (100m x 100m) to accommodate a large number of people to plant in the clinic garden. Another problem was the prioritizing of vegetable gardens above nutrition education and growth monitoring. The HST regards the latter as a critical aspect of any nutrition program. An HST staff similarly said that:
"Working with the DOH is extremely difficult in that the officials are not up to speed in terms of the whole INP concept. They seem to concentrate on
food gardens and less on nutrition education. DOH still wants to dictate how HST should operate when implementing the INP, and there is a lot of confusion as we find ourselves having to do what they
want and also ensure achieving set objectives of the program at the same time ".
20 February 2007
According to the HST staff, when the DOH provides the funds the DOH "calls the shots".
In this sense, the HST and the DOH are not really equal partners. The HST acknowledges that funds are prescriptive, however, the funds they receive from other organisations are not as prescriptive as those received from the DOH. With other funders, (such as the
Kellogg Foundation) the HST is able to remain autonomous, and they have the power to make decisions on how to implement the programs. However, with funding from the DOH, the DOH is more demanding and more controlling over how the program is to be implemented. Thus the HST feels that their activities are governed by the DOH. They felt that they are being co-opted into the DOH.
According to the HST staff, the availability (or lack of) funding does limit the implementation of the INP. As an NGO, the HST often finds itself having to compete with other organisations for funding.
"This competition for tenders affects the sustainability of the program and also puts the field workers under a lot of stress, in that, should funding not be available, they have to explain to the communities who were highly dependant on the funding why the program is not continued".
-HST staff- 20 February 2007
The HST's dependency on external funding threatens the sustainability of the INP. This is evident in the statement made by an HST staff member saying that:
"For the volunteers that got involved in the program for money, they
stopped working once there was no stipend. The output is not as effective as it would have been, had the program been given more time to run ".
20 February 2007
The HST often finds itself having to shape their goals and objectives to suit the requirements of the tender so as to access the funding. HST hires on a contract basis as the running of programs depends on the availability of funding. This has affected staff retention.
"A lot of staff members have left the program due to the ending of contracts
and others looking for security. Due to staff loss, there has been a lot of discontinuity in terms of implementing programs and
this may lead to total mistrust by communities ".
-HST staff- 20 February 2007