Centre for African Family Studies

Training, Technical Assistance, Research, and Knowledge Sharing.

The Centre for African Family Studies (CAFS) is an African institution dedicated to strengthening the capacity of organisations and individuals working in the field of health and development. CAFS conducts training courses and undertakes research and consultancy services from strategically located bases in East and West Africa (Corporate Head Office in Nairobi, Kenya; Central & West Africa Regional Office in Lome, Togo; and Country Offices in Abuja, Nigeria and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia). CAFS services are provided by highly qualified professionals who come from a variety of disciplines; including reproductive health, HIV&AIDS, population and development, and organisation and management development. The CAFS team reflects strong field experience and a profound knowledge of the African social and cultural environment.

Training

Since 1975, CAFS has trained over 14,000 policy makers (including Parliamentarians and Ministers), senior organisational and programme executives, research and evaluation managers and officers, programme managers and service providers. Country-based training services are complemented by technical assistance to governmental and civil society organisations to support training needs assessment, curriculum development, training of trainers and mentoring of new graduates to design and conduct their own courses. The Centre conducts annual trainings in HIV&AIDS programme management and supervision of HIV&AIDS services sponsored by IPPF, UNFPA, Packard Foundation, and USAID. In addition, CAFS is a founding member of the Regional AIDS Training Network (RATN) and is a lead member of National AIDS Control Council’s (NACC) Capacity Building Committee.

With a history spanning over three decades in Kenya and having trained individuals from the private and public sectors and has experience in helping civil society and government institutions in the following thematic areas through on the job training, coaching, and mentoring:

• Organisational development, leadership and partnership development,
• Knowledge management and organizational learning,
• Advocacy for leaders groups and community champions for community mobilization,
• Organisational health management for private sector,
• Management and supportive supervision for health managers,
• Participatory approach and techniques for implementers to help them to empower the communities,
• Reproductive health program management and service delivery,
• Gender and rights in reproductive health.

Technical Assistance

CAFS is a leading provider of consulting and advisory services in Reproductive Health, HIV & AIDS and Population & Development.  Using a participatory approach to organizational development and service delivery, CAFS responds to its clients’ programme and management challenges across national boundaries.  CAFS professional staff provides short- and long-term technical assistance services in Francophone and Anglophone sub-Saharan African countries in institutional capacity building, strategic planning, programme evaluation and development, curriculum development and operations research.

CAFS assists clients to convert information into insights and operations in order to improve client efficiency and performance.

Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation

CAFS is one of the key reproductive health and population and development research institutions in sub-Saharan Africa providing expertise in conducting operations research, surveys, qualitative research and participatory rural appraisals (PRA). In addition, the Centre offers consultant services in reproductive health, population and development programmes. In 2008, CAFS has facilitated three M&E trainings designed for HIV&AIDS and RH service providers in Uganda, Eritrea, and Madagascar sponsored by IPPF, WHO, UNAIDS-TSF, and the MoH – Benin. These trainings have focused on the fundamentals of M&E, log frame design, monitoring methods, tool development, and impact evaluation. Currently, CAFS is providing TA to IPPFAR Member Associations in Kenya, Ethiopia, Congo-Brazzaville, and Tanzania to help strengthen the institutions’ M&E systems, tools, and knowledge.

In 2009 lead a baseline research project for UNFPA to analyse the capacity of civil society organizations to advocate for new reproductive health and youth policies. In 2009 CAFS also undertook an institutional needs assessment of 8 IPPF Africa Region Member Associations focusing on organizational development, governance, monitoring and evaluation, service provision, and knowledge management. Currently CAFS is undertaking a situational analysis of SRH and FP in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda; specifically looking at the funding trends, programmatic approaches, and government policies.

Surveillance and Surveys

CAFS has extensive experience in building the capacity of organizations in HIV &AIDS program management and supervision of HIV&AIDS services. In addition, the Centre is one of the key reproductive health and population and development research institutions in sub-Saharan Africa providing expertise in conducting operations research, surveys, qualitative research and participatory rural appraisals (PRA).  The Centre has evaluated numerous SRH and HIV&AIDS programmes and has developed training modules and manuals in collaboration with UNICEF, USAID, Actionaid, and IPPF. In 2007, CAFS was conducted a baseline survey of the sexual behaviour and access to RH services of nomadic youth in Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia as part of a larger RH program managed by MSF and AMREF/Kenya. 

Conference Design and Coordination.  

In 2006, CAFS provided technical support to the Lusaka Youth Forum through the facilitation of a regional workshop on proposal, review and adoption of a Youth Network Charter for 150 participants from Africa. The workshop resulted in the Youth Network establishing a common vision, the adaptation of a “Youth Charter” on RH and HIV&AIDS, a strategic plan, and a capacity building programme. In 2010, CAFS designed, coordinated, and evaluated the “ESD End of Project Knowledge Sharing Conference” for Extended Service Delivery Project Consortium (Pathfinder International in partnership with Intrahealth, MSH, and Meridian Group). The conference brought together donor agencies, implementing partners, government representatives, and other project stakeholders from 15 countries to identifying evidence based practices for improving the delivery of SRH and FP services in Africa as well as approaches and activities that local and government institutions in Africa can take over.