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Quest Training

Health Program Sustainability & Donor Transition Training Course

Shows ministries and program managers how to shift donor-funded HIV, TB and malaria programs onto government budgets and domestic funding sources.

PHES · Public Health, Environment & Sustainability ManagementAll Levels#3007ClassroomEnglish , Arabic
Duration
5 Days
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Free substitution at any time · 30+ days' notice: full refund minus 10%. Cancellation policy

Sectors:Healthcare & Hospital ManagementCategories:Public Health, Environment & Sustainability Management

Course Overview

The Health Program Sustainability & Donor Transition Training Course is designed for ministries of health and finance, national disease program managers, subnational health departments, and NGOs whose programs depend on external funding. Unlike courses on managing grants or measuring project results, this program addresses what happens when donor funding ends, shrinks, or is withdrawn suddenly: how governments absorb vertical HIV, TB, and malaria programs into their own budgets, staffing structures, data systems, and supply chains without interrupting essential services. Many health systems carry critical functions that were never placed on the public payroll or budget. Health worker salaries, commodity procurement, laboratory networks, community outreach, and the hosting of health information systems are often paid for or run by donor-funded implementers. When that support stops, the gaps appear at once: unpaid staff, stock-outs, and electronic records that go offline because the server and the contract belonged to a partner rather than the ministry. Major funders such as the Global Fund, Gavi, and PEPFAR increasingly expect co-financing and planned transition, but abrupt exits leave ministries little time to prepare, prioritize, and protect the services that matter most. The course follows the full transition cycle. Participants learn to assess transition readiness, map donor dependency by function and cost, create fiscal space through domestic resource mobilization, cost the absorption of donor-funded programs, and secure budget lines within the medium-term expenditure framework, then track whether co-financing pledges are actually executed. They then examine how to integrate vertical programs into primary health care and ministry structures, absorb donor-funded staff, contract civil society with public funds, and keep health information systems and commodity supply chains running under government ownership. Through readiness assessments, costing and budget exercises, integration planning, continuity planning for data systems and supply chains, and a final transition plan workshop, participants build practical, defensible plans that protect service continuity, strengthen national ownership, and turn donor exit from a crisis into a managed transfer of responsibility to government systems.

Learning Objectives

  • Explain why donor transitions occur and distinguish planned, phased transitions from abrupt funding withdrawal.
  • Assess transition readiness across financing, governance, workforce, service delivery, commodities, and data systems.
  • Map donor dependency by program, function, cost category, and level of government to identify critical continuity risks.
  • Analyze fiscal space for health and identify realistic domestic resource mobilization options.
  • Cost the absorption of donor-funded programs, including recurrent, capital, and hidden costs that donors previously covered.
  • Prepare budget submissions and investment cases that secure transitioned programs within national and subnational budgets.
  • Track co-financing commitments and actual budget execution rather than relying on allocations alone.
  • Design integration plans that move vertical program functions into ministry structures and primary health care.
  • Plan the absorption of donor-funded staff onto government payroll, establishment posts, and salary structures.
  • Secure ownership, hosting, and continuity of health information systems and the data they hold.
  • Plan the handover of commodity forecasting, procurement, and distribution to national supply systems.
  • Establish transition governance, indicators, and contingency arrangements that protect essential services after donor exit.

Who Should Attend

This training course is designed for national disease program managers, ministry of health planning and finance directors, budget officers in ministries of finance, health financing specialists, supply chain and health information system managers, and human resources officers responsible for donor-funded staff. It is particularly relevant to ministries of health and finance, national HIV, TB, and malaria programs, state, county, and district health departments, national medical stores, public health institutes, and NGOs and implementing partners whose programs are moving from donor funding to government ownership. The program will also benefit senior officials, parliamentary budget staff, development partner liaison officers, and civil society leaders who must negotiate, approve, or monitor transition plans and need confidence that essential health services will continue after donor support ends.

Learning Outcomes

  • Explain the drivers of donor transition and the difference between planned transition and abrupt withdrawal.
  • Assess the transition readiness of a donor-funded health program across its main functions.
  • Map donor dependency and rank critical functions by continuity risk.
  • Estimate fiscal space for health and propose credible domestic resource mobilization options.
  • Cost the absorption of a donor-funded program, including previously hidden costs.
  • Prepare a budget submission and investment case for transitioned programs.
  • Monitor co-financing commitments against actual budget execution.
  • Design a plan to integrate vertical program functions, staff, and services into government structures.
  • Define ownership, hosting, and handover arrangements that keep health information systems running.
  • Plan the transfer of commodity quantification, procurement, and distribution to national systems.
  • Prepare contingency measures and minimum service packages for sudden funding loss.
  • Develop an integrated transition plan with governance, indicators, and a donor negotiation position.

Course Outline

Course Outline:

Day 1

Transition Readiness & Donor Dependency Mapping

  • Why transitions happen: income-status graduation, co-financing policies, phase-out, and abrupt withdrawal
  • Mapping donor dependency by program, function, cost category, and level of government
  • Transition readiness assessment: financing, governance, workforce, service delivery, commodities, and data
  • Critical functions at risk: salaries, commodities, laboratory networks, data hosting, and community services
  • Stakeholder mapping: ministries of health and finance, subnational governments, donors, and civil society
  • Building a transition roadmap with milestones, owners, and risk triggers
  • Practical application: Assess a program's transition readiness and rank critical functions by continuity risk
Day 2

Domestic Resource Mobilization & Health Budgeting

  • Fiscal space for health: growth, reprioritization, earmarking, and efficiency gains
  • Costing absorption: recurrent, capital, and hidden costs previously paid by donors
  • Placing transitioned programs in the medium-term expenditure framework and dedicated budget lines
  • Co-financing commitments and tracking budget execution, not only allocations
  • Health taxes, social health insurance, and strategic purchasing as financing options
  • Building the investment case for the ministry of finance and parliament
  • Practical application: Cost the absorption of a vertical program and prepare a budget submission with an investment case
Day 3

Integrating Vertical Programs into Government Systems

  • Vertical, integrated, and hybrid program models for HIV, TB, and malaria services
  • Institutional arrangements: moving functions from project units into ministry structures
  • Absorbing donor-funded staff: payroll, establishment posts, salary harmonization, and community health workers
  • Integrating services into primary health care and essential service packages
  • Social contracting: funding civil society and NGOs through public budgets
  • Public financial management rules for procurement, disbursement, and accountability in transitioned programs
  • Practical application: Plan the move of a vertical program's functions, staff, and services into government structures
Day 4

Continuity of Health Information Systems & Supply Chains

  • Data system dependency: hosting, ownership, licensing, source code, and data export rights
  • Moving health information, electronic medical record, and laboratory systems to government hosting
  • Data governance, interoperability, and protecting personal health data during handover
  • Commodity forecasting, quantification, and procurement after pooled donor procurement ends
  • Integrating parallel supply chains into national medical stores and distribution systems
  • Preventing stock-outs: buffer stocks, framework contracts, and bridge financing
  • Practical application: Prepare a continuity plan for data system hosting, commodity quantification, and procurement handover
Day 5

Transition Governance & Sustainability Safeguards

  • Transition governance: steering committees, clear accountability, and reporting to cabinet and parliament
  • Transition indicators: financing, service coverage, staffing, stock status, and data availability
  • Monitoring co-financing fulfillment and budget execution at every level
  • Contingency planning for abrupt withdrawal: prioritization and minimum service packages
  • Protecting equity and services for key and vulnerable populations after transition
  • Negotiating responsible exit, handover terms, and technical support with departing donors
  • Practical application: Develop an integrated transition plan with governance, indicators, contingencies, and a donor negotiating position

Upcoming Dates

Selected date

Bangkok · 15 – 19 Mar 2027 · Classroom

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CityDatesPrice per ParticipantEarly Bird
Cape TownScheduled
9 – 13 Nov 2026€5,100—
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DammamScheduled
15 – 19 Nov 2026€4,200—
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CasablancaScheduled
16 – 20 Nov 2026€4,300—
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DohaScheduled
22 – 26 Nov 2026€4,400€3,960until 2 Nov
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DubaiScheduled
29 Nov – 3 Dec 2026€4,400€3,960until 9 Nov
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ErbilScheduled
6 – 10 Dec 2026€3,100€2,790until 16 Nov
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FrankfurtScheduled
7 – 11 Dec 2026€5,800€5,220until 16 Nov
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GenevaScheduled
14 – 18 Dec 2026€6,300€5,670until 23 Nov
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JeddahScheduled
20 – 24 Dec 2026€4,200€3,780until 30 Nov
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IstanbulScheduled
21 – 25 Dec 2026€4,700€4,230until 30 Nov
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KigaliScheduled
28 Dec 2026 – 1 Jan 2027€5,100€4,590until 7 Dec
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LisbonScheduled
4 – 8 Jan 2027€5,400€4,860until 14 Dec
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Kuala LumpurScheduled
4 – 8 Jan 2027€4,400€3,960until 14 Dec
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LondonScheduled
11 – 15 Jan 2027€5,600€5,040until 21 Dec
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MadridScheduled
18 – 22 Jan 2027€5,400€4,860until 28 Dec
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MadinahScheduled
18 – 22 Jan 2027€4,200€3,780until 28 Dec
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MakkahScheduled
25 – 29 Jan 2027€4,200€3,780until 4 Jan
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ManamaScheduled
1 – 5 Feb 2027€4,700€4,230until 11 Jan
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MarbellaScheduled
1 – 5 Feb 2027€5,400€4,860until 11 Jan
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MuscatScheduled
8 – 12 Feb 2027€5,300€4,770until 18 Jan
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OnlineScheduled
14 – 18 Feb 2027€1,700€1,530until 25 Jan
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AccraScheduled
22 – 26 Feb 2027€5,100€4,590until 1 Feb
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AbujaScheduled
22 – 26 Feb 2027€5,100€4,590until 1 Feb
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AmmanScheduled
28 Feb – 4 Mar 2027€3,100€2,790until 8 Feb
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AmsterdamScheduled
8 – 12 Mar 2027€5,400€4,860until 15 Feb
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BakuScheduled
8 – 12 Mar 2027€4,800€4,320until 15 Feb
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BangkokScheduled
15 – 19 Mar 2027€6,100€5,490until 22 Feb
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BarcelonaScheduled
22 – 26 Mar 2027€5,400€4,860until 1 Mar
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CairoScheduled
28 Mar – 1 Apr 2027€3,300€2,970until 8 Mar
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BeirutScheduled
28 Mar – 1 Apr 2027€4,000€3,600until 8 Mar
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Available in: Istanbul · Dubai · London · Doha · Amsterdam

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