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The Secretariat is headed by the General Secretary and has five departments: Institutional and Organizational Development, Finance and Administration, HIV/AIDS, Health Services Support and the CHAK Training Centre/Guest House which will be completed by May 2008. These departments are supported by an ICT/M&E unit under the office of the General Secretary. The Secretariat coordinates the Association’s core functions on behalf of its members. General Secretary's Office 
The General Secretary's office has the following core functions:
Strategic leadership The GS is the Management Team leader Health Sector collaboration in the SWAps arrangement Image building and public relations Strategy development, planning and monitoring of all CHAK activities Advocacy, lobbying and representation Networking Governance of Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies (MEDS) Ecumenical collaboration, both regionally and internationally Donor relations and fundraising Resource allocation and accountability. The GS is the custodian of the Association's assets, seal and documents The GS is the secretary to the CHAK Executive Commitee (EXCO), Annual General Meeting and Trustees Representing the Association in various fora
CHAK departments perform the following functions: Back to Top Institutional and Organisational Development and Planning Department 
CHAK’s I&OD department contributes to delivery of quality health services to Kenyan citizens served by CHAK Member Health Units through: Back to Top Finance and Administration Department
CHAK upholds integrity, accountability, efficiency and professionalism in managing the financial and other resources entrusted to the organisation. This role is played by the Finance Department which plays the following roles: Financial management Financial reporting Maintenance of books of accounts and inventory Facilitating audits Investments and fundraising Budgeting and budget control Grants management and compliance monitoring Providing internal audit services to projects and member health units Administration
CHAK’s Finance and Administration department has embraced IT to enhance efficiency in financial records keeping and reporting.
A situational analysis study of Faith Based Health Services conducted in 2006/7 identified weaknesses in member health units’ financial management capacity and internal control systems. CHAK has taken on the role of facilitating capacity building in financial management and supporting members to enhance their internal control systems.
The Secretariat also facilitates the development of Financial Management Manuals and supports members in applying them. CHAK also provides technical support services in finance and accounting as well as internal audit services where requested, encouraging members to introduce internal audit functions and computerization of revenue collection, accounting and stock management. Back to Top Health Services Support Department  This department is charged with facilitating all medical programmes within CHAK that are not related to HIV/AIDS. Its roles include:
- Facilitating Continuous Medical Education programs for Member Health Units targeting nurses, doctors and paramedical staff
- Ensuring compliance with medical professional standards and regulatory requirements in Member Health Units
- Accreditation of Member Health Units as per Government Norms and Standards
- Project proposal development and project management
- Facilitating Doctors' internship program conducted in several CHAK member health units
- Family Medicine training
- Supporting nurses' training programmes
- Facilitating implementation of quality assurance protocols using Norms and Standards and Kenya Quality Model (KQM) established by the Ministry of Health
- Technical advisory services
- Primary Health Care (PHC) or community strategy
- Mentorship and supportive supervision to members
- Liaising with medical professional bodies
- Promoting essential drugs concept and rational drug use
- Collaborating with the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders in health in the development of health policy, guidelines, planning and monitoring
Back to Top HIV/AIDS Programs Department
 About 1.25 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya (NASCOP, 2006). In response to this pandemic, CHAK through its members provides comprehensive HIV/AIDS care services including pediatric and adult ARV treatment, PMCT, VCT, palliative care and management of opportunistic infections. The CHAK network has several CD4 count and viral load machines to enable health facilities provide comprehensive care for HIV/AIDS patients. CHAK has been recognized by the Ministry of Health for training in PMCT and ART and is building capacity to attain similar recognition for VCT. MEDS facilitates access to a variety of ARVs. CHAK’s HIV/AIDS department provides leadership in the development, implementation, coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation of HIV/AIDS programmes. Among CHAK’s priorities in HIV/AIDS are: - Resource mobilization to support HIV/AIDS programmes and projects within the CHAK network
- Capacity building, coordination and facilitation of PMCT projects being undertaken by members
- Scale up of ART and VCT services within the network
- Stigma reduction and mitigation of rights of People Living with HIV and AIDS
- Collaborating with other stakeholders in HIV/AIDS policy development, planning and implementation
- Interpretation and application of National HIV/AIDS Framework, Kenya National AIDS Strategic Plan and Monitoring and Evaluation Framework
The HIV/AIDS Programmes Department performs the following key functions: HIV/AIDS proposal development and resource mobilisation HIV/AIDS programs implementation and monitoring PMCT capacity building, co-ordination and facilitation ART scale up through comprehensive care model HIV/AIDS prevention, care, treatment and support (ABC and PEP) VCT scale up Home Based Care (HBC) Stigma reduction and mitigation of the rights of People Living with HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS policy development and implementation Involvement in planning and policy formulation Interpretation and application of National HIV/AIDS Framework, Kenya National AIDS Strategic Plan and M&E Framework Development of information and education communication materials as well as a communication strategy Networking on HIV/AIDS Monitoring and Evaluation and report writing
Back to Top ICT Unit
CHAK has embraced ICT to facilitate the dissemination of information to its members who are scattered through out the country as well as its partners. Due to the diversity of CHAK’s membership, the Association has embraced print and electronic media to ensure that news and information are available to members and partners regardless of their location.  The ICT unit composed of the Health and Management Information Systems and the Communications offices supports the Association in this role by compiling and distributing the network newsletter, CHAK Times, the Associations Annual Report and other publications.
Overseen by the General Secretary, the ICT Unit also facilitates exchange of information and provides ICT-related technical support to the Secretariat and MHUs. By maintaining a database of CHAK members, the unit facilitates efficient sharing of information, experiences and best practices among members and partners of CHAK. It also plays a Monitoring and Evaluation role for the Association's projects and programmes. A resource center located at the secretariat boasts a variety of print and audio-visual resource materials to update CHAK members on national, regional and global developments in health care. The department also builds the capacity of Member Health Units in documentation and information management. The unit's roles can be summarised as follows: Maintenance of CHAK membership directory Health Information Systems (HIS) Management Information Systems (MIS) Human resource information systems IT equipment procurement and maintenance IT systems maintenance and LAN administration Upgrading and maintenance of e-mail and Internet services Maintanance of CHAK website IT support to member health units Management of CHAK resource centre Research and documentation Maintainance of projects' and members' databases Publications Report writing and editing Communication
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