Abstract
In 2014, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded FHI 360 to implement the five-year Challenge TB (CTB) Myanmar to support Myanmar?s National Tuberculosis Program (NTP) in its efforts to actively find and effectively treat missing tuberculosis (TB) cases. USAID/Burma contracted Social Impact, Inc. to conduct an evaluation to examine activity effectiveness and intervention challenges and provide recommendations to guide decisions on future investments. The evaluation team used mixed methods including document review, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, observations and secondary data to identify findings that addressed USAID?s evaluation questions. The evaluation found that CTB Myanmar successfully contributed to case finding by addressing key issues and gaps in case finding and provided robust technical assistance (TA) for a range of TB thematic areas. At the same time, activity implementation was constrained by systemic issues like human resource deficiencies and poor buy-in from other relevant departments of the Ministry of Health and Sports (MOHS). Models designed by CTB Myanmar have been taken up by other grant projects to varying extents. Following the close-out of CTB Myanmar, weaknesses in current programming in the country include the scale back of active case finding (ACF), poor understanding of stigma, and lack of plans for provision of TA for NTP. Serious challenges in human resources and inter-departmental coordination limit the utilization of TA in implementation. Opportunities for investment include reaching migrants and ethnic organizations. The report makes nine recommendations directed to USAID/Burma on priorities for future design and implementation.