Appraisal of Sustainability of Kwara Eye Care Programme: Post Non-Governmental Organization Support
Abstract
Background: Kwara state is one of the 36 states in Nigeria with 16 local government areas and an estimated 4 million population. 1Kwara Eye Care Programme was initiated in 2003 with the support of Sightsavers, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with the aim of eliminating avoidable blindness in Kwara State. The programme enjoyed two cycles of support from Sightsavers during which set targets were met and landmark achievements recorded through the collaboration. Sightsavers ended financial support in 2013 with full devolution of the programme to the state government. Seven years after, service delivery is ongoing, human resources and infrastructural development have been reinforced to sustain the impact of the programme directly through the state
government-based direct coordination. Challenges to sustainability that have been highlighted in studies especially in Africa includes
poor funding, weak political will, limited local counterpart capacity, donor dominance during the project and overly ambitious designs of project 2,3 This study therefore aims to appraise how the State Government was able to sustain the formerly co-funded project.
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