About MSA
"Developing countries and countries with economies in transition need to be able to identify and solve their own development problems..."
UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME
MSA is a registered UK Charity founded in 2000. It is a not-for-profit private company limited by guarantee, with Country Branches in Africa namely Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania and Kenya (in the nprocess of formation). MSA is currently making inroads into South Sudan and French-speaking Sub-Saharan African countries.
MSA is dedicated to capacity building for African development particularly in the health sector. Social service and the desire to contribute to the development of Africa are the driving forces behind the organization
Vision
We aim at becoming the foremost indigenous non-profit regional technical resource in institutional capacity building and organizational development for health development in Africa, especially with reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, and youth-serving organizations.
Mission
We are in the business of developing human and institutional capacity for health development organizations in sub-saharan Africa. We achieve this through training and technical assistance services, commitment and competence of our respective boards, staff, technical associates and volunteers, and in partnership with our our donors and clients, partners, and other stakeholders.
We work to design, disseminate, and support application of strategies that are appropriate and sensitive to the circumstances and aspirations of health development organizations, their beneficiary and client groups, and their donors and partners.
Consequently, we are involved in:
- Organization development consultancy, training, and research services as well as program support and grants management;
- Improving the performance of businesses through improved support activities, increased research and development activities, and improved technical proficiency of staff.
- Collaborating with strategic partners to contribute to the prevention of new HIV infections and advancement of sexual and reproductive rights;
- Promoting high quality health support services
- Advancing the education of health providers and
- Providing advice and assistance to healthcare providers, organizations and the public
How is MSA different?
There are many African and Africa-based national and international organizations fully or partially addressing capacity and organization development issues in the health sector. However MSA is unique in that MSA is:
- An African organisation with an all time commitment to African development, combining strong 'western' management experience and skills with truly African perspective and vision.
- An indigenous regional initiative created by senior African professionals committed to change in the development, organisation, and management of health and development programs.
- A cooperative venture utilizing the broad expertise of individuals with native or specialist knowledge and understanding of the regional circumstances and needs in social development, health, and management, and insights for the ways forward.
- A single focus on organization effectiveness and organization development issues and concerns to produce improved outcomes and sustainable program impact.
- A sustainable African organisation, not a time-bound donor-funded program or project.
Operating Philosophy
- We are not a frontline SRH and HIV/AIDS service provider: we help client organizations to assess, set, and realize their directions, goals and objectives.
- We recognize the importance of a professional approach to the delivery of our services and also nurture a traditional value for integrity and ethical conduct.
- We work hand-in-hand with our partners, clients and other stakeholders to improve our performance,
- We ensure quality in our processes, techniques and services.
- We employ current knowledge, evidence-based practices, and state-of-the-art technologies
- To ensure total client satisfaction, we forge partnership with clients in developing and applying solutions.
- We deliver African solutions within African Sensitivities
Organizational Structure
International Level
MSA International is governed by an international Board of Directors, which charts direction, agrees strategy and oversees performance. An executive committee (EC) consisting of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Treasurer and the Executive Director acts for the board of trustees in between its meetings. A technical advisory committee (TAC) advises on technical direction, ensures that state of the art thinking and applications are used, and assists with overall technical oversight. The resource mobilization committee (RMC) attends to issues related to fund raising and resource mobilization.
The secretariat of MSA International is headquartered in London. The executive director is responsible for the management of the MSA secretariat and international operations. The London office provides strategic and technical leadership as well as management support, including quality control and quality assurance, to country branches; and undertakes marketing, fundraising, corporate organization development.
Country Level
MSA country branches and offices are located in Abuja (Nigeria), Accra (Ghana), and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). Each country branch has its own board of directors responsible for governance at country level, taking into consideration peculiar country environment and challenges. Each country is led by a country team leader (CTL) who is the chief operating officer responsible for the day-to-day management of the organisation. Under each CTL is a core staff complement of institutional capacity development/organizational development (ICB/OD) specialist, a training specialist, a financial management specialist and an administrator.
Board Members
MSA's Board members are senior Africans and Africa specialists from other parts of the world who have worked in a variety of national, Africa regional, and international health development and management settings, with unique insights into needs and solutions that are likely to work. This rich diversity is reflected in the MSA International Board of Directors.
MSA Technical Associates
MSA employs a team approach that allows it to bring a multidisciplinary expertise to bear on complex problems. MSA has therefore developed a network of highly qualified and experienced associates who can be marshalled to form project teams on specific projects. These are specialists registered to work for MSA and are deployed to undertake various work assignments as they arise. These experts are screened and placed on the MSA technical associates data base to ensure a readily available broad range and mix of technical expertise when needed.
Networking and Collaboration
MSA recognises the existence of a number of national and international organisations that have been supporting or implementing organizational and management capacity development programs.
Where possible, MSA seeks collaborations with such organisations to form partnerships for specific projects. Through this, MSA can access the additional and complementary technical expertise it requires to respond comprehensively to client needs while contributing valuable inputs into the work of the partners.