Factors influencing management of HIV/AIDS projects funds by community based organizations: the case of Maara sub-county, Tharaka Nithi County

Abstract

Project funds implemented by community based organizations have faced numerous challenges among them management and governance issues especially in accountability and transparency. Since the inception of the development projects in Kenya, there are limited studies which have been carried out to establish the factors influencing the management of project funds by organizations. This study therefore sought to investigate the factors influencing management of HIV/AIDs projects funds by community based organizations in Maara Sub-county, Tharaka Nithi County. This research was guided by the following objectives; to determine the influence of staff training on management of project funds by community based organizations, to examine the influence of monitoring and evaluation on management of project funds by community based organizations, to assess how level of donor funding influences management of project funds by community based organizations, and to determine the influence of organizational factor on management of project funds by community based organizations. The study targeted the 18 community based organizations in Maara Sub- County who benefited from HIV/ AIDS funds. Purposive sampling was used in the study where all the community based organization executives were included in the study and nine Constituency Aids Control Council committee members and the seven District Monitoring and Evaluation Committee members were also included for in-depth interviews. Simple random sampling was used to identify community based organization members to be included in the study. The information for the study was gathered by use of questionnaires as the main research instruments. The questionnaires were administered to the community based organization executives (Chairpersons, Secretaries and treasurers) and the 108 members from the 18 CBOs. Interview guide was used to gather in-depth information from the constituency AIDs control council committee and district monitoring and evaluation committee members who are key informants on HIV/AIDs funds. The collected raw data was coded and analyzed by both descriptive and inferential methods using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) software version 20.0. The study established that majority of the respondents, 74.7% were trained on project management. It also indicated that there is a significant positive relationship between monitoring and evaluation of project activities and management of projects funds. The study also established that organizational factor influences management of project funds by community based organizations. The study recommends that community based organizations should be trained on monitoring and evaluation of their project activities. It also recommends that community based organizations should be capacity build on monitoring and evaluations guidelines with more emphasis on reporting and participatory monitoring and evaluation to enable them carry out monitoring and self-evaluation of their project activities. This study also recommends that donors should increase their level of funding to CBOs since they play an important and relevant role in providing services at the local level.