INFLUENCE OF DONOR REGULATIONS ON EFFECTIVE UTILIZATION OF HEALTH SECTOR FUNDS IN THE FORMER NYANZA PROVINCE

Abstract

Donors play a critical part in the functioning of the national health systems of many countries in Africa. These developmental assistances in form of programs in the Province are to augment existing efforts in reducing and preventing illnesses and premature mortalities among the population. Moreover, most of these programs are expected to be sustainable in the long run meaning that they need to be capable of going on even after the withdrawal of the donor. However, studies still suggest that donor programs still experience considerable implementation challenges. This, therefore, puts into question the effectiveness of the donor Regulations on the on effective utilization of donor funds. Therefore, the general objective of the study was to establish the influence of donor Regulations on effective utilization of donor funds focusing on the health sector inCounties of the former Nyanza Province. Specifically, it sought to determine the influence of financing Regulations, administrative Regulations, risk management Regulations and financial reporting mechanisms on effective donor funds utilization in the health sector in the former Nyanza Province. The study was guided by the Agency Theory and the Dependency Theory.The study used descriptive survey research design and targeted 4donor organizations with projects in Kisii, Kisumu and Homa Bay Counties all in the former Nyanza Province.The study used a sample size of 84 persons comprisingfund management team members, accountants, auditors, and fund evaluation team members from the area obtained using sstratified random sampling. Pre-tested questionnaires were used for data collection. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis. The findings revealed that; first, donor financing Regulations on projects insulated the projects funding base from interferance by external actors; second, the donors often imposed strict administrative Regulations on their projects and they were particularly keen on establishing a sound managerial base for their funded projects so as to improve the levels of financial controls and accountability without compromising the levels of service delivery. Thirdly, it emerged that risk ranking was not prioritized by the donors probably due to the view that most of the projects they funded were in partnership with the government which indeminfied the risks associated with the projects. Finally, it was evident that the donor agencies were keen on their reporting requirements and that this was well communicated to their implementing partners. It was, therefore, recommended that; there needs to be better correspondence between the donors and the implementing agencies on the modalities influencing fund disbursement so as to avoid costly delays; the donor agencies and the implementing partners also need to agree on a long term template for administration so as to ease recruitment and managerial requirements. It is also recommended that donors should require implelemting partners to practice risk management so as to enable them maximize on every opportunity available in the operating area to deliver on the projects. The study also recommends that the donors agencies need to agree with their implementing partners on the standardization of the financial reporting.