About Strengthening Systems | The Foundation for Professional Development

FPD does not follow the narrower definition of community engagement that is solely focused on the role of students in the community. We believe that as an institution that attracts highly skilled social entrepreneurs, we are in a position to effect positive transformation in society. The work we do around system strengthening such as: supporting NGOs, working with the public sector on health and education systems strengthening, gender-based violence and learnerships speaks to this commitment.

FPD is based on a virtual business model that places a high premium on strategic alliances with national and international organisations to increase the scope and reach of our programmes.

Strategic Information Department

TASI provides technical support and expertise to District Health Information Management and other programmes to strengthen collection, collation, reporting and use of data from routine health information systems and other relevant sources. The aim is to foster a culture of evidence-based decision making from the facility to district management team level.

Community Based Counselling and Testing Department

CBCT implements community-based HIV prevention, counselling and testing programmes for reduced HIV incidence in high incidence communities in South Africa. The CBCT project under the KFW funding is a consortium of five partners with three implementing partners, namely KI, HPPSA and FPD) the other two partners namely SEAD and CCI provide technical assistance on quality assurance and BCC respectively. The CBCT department also implements HIV testing services targeting adolescent girls and young women in Tswane and Bojanala through funding from SCI. Lastly, through funding from USAID CBCT manages two sub-grantees (HPPSA and SFH) on the Communities Forward grant, to implement community based testing in six provinces covering 13 priority districts.

Technical Assitance

HSS provides facility-level training, coaching, mentorship, quality improvement, and where applicable, direct services support through a roving mentor team and programme champion model. The aim is to ensure improved service delivery and quality of care with key focus on: identifying HIV positive patients and initiating them on ARTs, retention, and ongoing care for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV); TB/HIV/STI integration; provider-initiated counselling and testing (PICT); maternal and child health and reproductive health; ensuring community linkages and establishing “ideal clinics”. Additionally, HSS provides technical, clinical and programmatic expertise to the above priority health programmes through programme champions with the aim of promoting a cycle of total quality management and inculcation of best practice.

Compass Project

Compass Project is an FPD initiative that assists communities to respond effectively to HIV and AIDS through identification of the need, mapping of service provision and capacity building activities to improve the response through GIS maps, service directories and "app-based" products. Compass Project promotes the philosophy that in order to have an effective response to the HIV epidemic, a coordinated mobilization of all resources in a specific community is required.

CHW Project

FPD, in collaboration with I-TECH funded through the CDC, will train an estimated 7000 Community Health Workers (CHWs) and 700 Outreach Team Leaders (OTLs) in two provinces namely Eastern Cape and Free State in several priority districts. In this skills development initiative to ensure that CHWs are trained and able to manage common conditions while surveying households, relevant and accessible knowledge and skills is a core requirement. The curriculum will cover the primary health care package, i.e. the basics of HIV and HIV prevention and treatment, Prevention of Mother-to-Child transmission (PMTCT), tuberculosis, adherence to treatment, antenatal care, pregnancy, the essence of child health, hypertension and diabetes.

CDC Projects

The CDC funded HIV Testing Services, Priority Population Prevention, Adherence communication Strategy and PHC modelling programmes form part of the Special Projects Cluster. Funding started in September 2016 and is implemented with support of the following sub award grantees: CareWorks, CCI, PPO Serve and OUT Wellness.

MMC Sustain Project

The Foundation for Professional Development and Genesis Analytics have been contracted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the National Department of Health to scale-up Medical Male Circumcision (MMC) and to ensure that the programme is sustainable.

National Cancer Screening Campaign Project

FPD has been contracted by Astra Zeneca to support the NDoH to launch a National Cancer Campaign (NCC) aimed at creating greater awareness about cancer and strengthen pathways of care.