Guidelines for MoH NGO greement

Guidelines for completing the Agreement

with Ministry of Health.

1. A Protocol with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should be signed before negotiating an Agreement with the MoH. The MoFA protocol is a framework agreement between the Royal Government and the Organization. It provides permission, and overall terms and conditions, for the organization to work in Cambodia. However, it is still necessary for the organization to sign an agreement of work with the appropriate technical ministry(ies).

The MoH will require to see the initial signed protocol with the MoFA, and any extensions to the protocol obtained during the term of the project.

2. The overall process involved in preparing and signing an Agreement with the Ministry of Health is as follows:

a) The organization has initial meeting(s) with MoH and Province or Institute, arranged by (or informed to) the International Relations Office in MoH.

The purpose of these initial meetings is to identify MoH health service needs and locations, and to discuss a possible project outline.

b) The organization then develops the detailed project document, in consultation with the MoH, and negotiates with donors to secure funding.

c) The organization submits the final draft of the detailed project document to the MoH International Relations Office for review and discussion through the Cocom secretariat, and with the Province or National Institute.

d) The MoH may request a formal meeting with the organization, and possibly also with CDC; and/or make recommendations for changing the project document.

e) When the detail of the project document is finalised and agreed at Cocom, the organization prepares the Agreement, carefully following the MoH standard Agreement outline and guidelines.

f) When funding is secure, the organization submits the Agreement to the International Relations Office for checking and review.

(Note: the Agreement is not intended as a means to assist organizations to

obtain funding from donors. If necessary, a letter of agreement in principle, valid for 6 months, can be provided by the MoH to assist with securing funding.)

g) Where necessary, MoH submits the Agreement to CDC for advice and review.

h) When all required information is included and agreed, the International Relations Office will arrange a formal signing ceremony.

i) Once signed, the organization should ensure that the Province, District(s), and/or National Institute have copies of the Agreement. This then forms the working agreement between the organization and the local health authorities.

3. It is important that projects are discussed with the cooperating health authorities at province and district level. However, this is not sufficient. In addition, formal approval (as outlined above) must be obtained from the Ministry of Health, and an Agreement signed.

4. A separate Agreement should be signed for each discrete project, or

separate objectives and financial information for different provinces, and if necessary, for different districts, can be provided in the one Agreement.

5. Content of the Agreement is based on information needed to effectively coordinate donor finances and activities in the health sector, and on information that the Ministry of Health is frequently required to provide to the Cambodian Development Committee (CDC), the Ministry of Planning, and the Ministry of Finance.

The Agreement will be signed by MoH when all required information is provided.

6. All proposals, project documents, Agreements and progress reports should be sent, with at least 2 copies, to the MoH International Relations Office and copies also sent to the relevant Province, District(s) or National Institutes.

7. Agreements need to be prepared in both Khmer and English or French.

8. The MoH Office of International Relations can provide, on request, a copy of the MoH Agreement in Khmer, English and French, on a computer floppy diskette provided by the NGO.

9. It is very important to follow exactly the order, numbering and wording of the Agreement outline, and to provide all information requested, as the International Relations Office will be entering the information on to a computer database.

10. The summary information listed at the beginning of the Agreement provides important, and quick reference information for the Ministry of Health.

Donor funding information is requested to assist the MoH to avoid double counting of funds provided to assist the health sector.

11. The detailed information in Article II is necessary to assist the Ministry of Health to most appropriately and effectively coordinate external aid for the greatest benefit to the health services. Please ensure objectives are clear and specific, and explain exactly what type of assistance the project intends to provide.

12. As stated in the Agreement, it is important that all projects are in line with the MoH policies and plans, and evolving strategies. Presently, this is particularly important for any renovation or construction of buildings, and for development of staff training programs.

Location, size and staffing of health facilities have significant implications for future sustainability, and therefore must be discussed with the MoH before any decisions are made, or any work started. The MoH will be working with provinces during 1995 to develop health coverage plans for most appropriate locations for clinics, health centers and district hospitals. It is essential that all future projects are in line with these coverage plans.

There are several major plans, due to begin in the near future, for continuing education for health staff. The MoH hopes to coordinate training programs for consistency of content, and to avoid any further confusion on staff qualifications.

13. Detailed financial information is essential to meet requirements of the Ministry of Finance, and the Government's cooperation with the IMF and World Bank.

Please use the categories of expenditure as listed in the Agreement, and show the total budget for the duration of the project, as well as the commitment for each calendar year, Jan. to Dec.. (not all these categories will be appropriate to all projects, and organizations are requested to provide information as relevant.)

If the budget is normally expressed in a currency other than US $, please convert to US $ and show the exchange rate used.

The Ministry of Health is most interested in the Direct Costs for the project. Therefore you are asked to separate expatriate and project support costs from the Direct Costs.

Area of Cost	Include:
Expatriate costs: off-shore and in-country support	Salaries, insurance, air fares, housing , etc.
Office Overheads	Vehicle purchase and running costs, in country travel, office rent, electricity, stationary, local staff salaries, etc.
Sub-Total : Project Support
Direct Project Costs
Support to Cambodian Health staff:	Salary supplements, in-country travel, other support
Training costs:	Preparation and production of materials, costs of workshops, Fellowships, study tours etc.
Drugs and medical materials:	All medicaments and medical consumables for clinics, hospitals & out-reach
Medical equipment:	Clinic, hospital & out-reach medical equipment.
Other (non medical) supplies :	Non-medical consumables: eg: stationery, cleaning, etc.
Other (non medical) equipment:	Non-medical equipment: eg: furniture,
Commodity (in kind) Aid:	Value of equipment and materials provided "in kind".
Emergency Relief Aid:	e.g.: for flood victims, refugees, etc.
Renovation costs:	Major repairs and renovation to any health facility
Construction costs:	New building construction, and the associated technical assistance: engineering & architectural costs, etc.
Sub-Total : Direct Costs
Total Budget

14. Annual reports are referred to in the Agreement.

It is preferable that these are brief and specific.

An outline and guideline for reports is attached and should be followed.

14.1 A separate report should be provided for each discrete project, or

separate activities and financial expenditure for different provinces, and if necessary, for different districts, can be clearly provided in the one report.

14.2 Even though your project may not begin and end with calendar years, it is necessary for reports to be provided according to the calendar year, to assist MoH to provide accurate financial reports to the Ministries of Finance & Planning.

Please submit reports as soon as possible and no later than 2 months after the end of the year, ie: in January or February for Jan. to Dec. the previous year.

If a project starts, e.g., in September, then in the following Jan. or Feb. the organization should submit an initial 4 month report for the period Sept. to Dec.

It is very helpful to the Ministry to have quick reference summary information, so please provide this at the front of the report, to a maximum of one page for all the required information, as listed in the guideline.

The annual reports should contain financial expenditure information, as outlined in the report guideline attached:

Please use the categories of expenditure as listed in the report guideline, and

Show: the budget for the year completed,

the expenditure for the year completed,

the total project budget for duration of the project,

balance of the total budget that is remaining at the end of the report period,

expected budget/expenditure for the next year.

14.3 Where a project covers more than one province, please provide one additional table showing expenditure by line item for each province, or provide a separate progress report for each province. (see 13.1 above)

14.4 Where possible, annual reports translated in Khmer are useful to the MoH. However, reports submitted in English or French are sufficient.

Please note: that the MoH International Relations Office can provide outlines of the standard report format on computer diskette, in Khmer, English and French.

14.5 Please ensure that progress reports are also forwarded directly to the Province, District(s) and/or National Institute.