Malawi experiences a high HIV burden and weak healthcare systems. The Blantyre Prevention Strategy (BPS) was a six-year district health systems strengthening intervention which was implemented to enhance HIV prevention. The BPS was led by Georgetown University in partnership with Blantyre District Health Services, Cooper and Smith, and UCSF HealthQual. The BPS aimed to improve local system capacities for HIV prevention through leadership development, health communication, quality improvement, and data-driven decision-making. The African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) in Nairobi, Kenya conducted an external evaluation to determine the extent to which BPS achieved its intended objective of addressing systemic vulnerabilities hindering an effective HIV prevention response. PALM Consulting Limited contributed to the development of the proposal for ethical clearance, the recruitment and training of Research Assistants who did some of the interviews, conducting key informant interviews especially at national and district level and contributed to the review of literature and compilation of the final evaluation report. The evaluation used a mixed-methods approach, including desk reviews, secondary data analysis from DHIS2, and qualitative interviews with stakeholders at national, district and facility levels. Ethical approvals were obtained from APHRC and the National Committee for Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities of the National Commission for Science and Technology of the Malawi Government. This evaluation was conducted.
Sample size: 41 interviews at national and district levels