Sustainability of Donor Funded Projects in Public Hospitals in Kenya: A Case of HIV/Aids Projects at “N†County Referral Hospital

The research project sought to investigate factors influencing sustainability of donor funded projects in public hospitals in Kenya; a case of HIV/AIDS projects at “N†County Referral Hospital. Project sustainability is one of the most critical challenges for all grassroots, national and international development agencies. The study objective was to evaluate how leadership, funds, capacity building, and stakeholder’s involvement can influence the sustainability of donor funded projects in public hospitals. The study provided an in-depth literature review and analysis based on the research objectives, identification of the theories applicable to this study, and the conceptual framework. The target population for this study was 137 employees from the HIV/AIDS projects funded at “N†County Referral Hospital. A census of 137 respondents was done since the target population was relatively small and therefore the need for sampling from it was overlooked. The researcher obtained a permit from National Council for Science and Technology based on authorization letter from The Management University of Africa. The researcher paid a visit to the area of study and made appointments with the target population where data was collected. A pilot survey was done before conducting the main data collection exercise and the reliability and consistency of the research instrument was assessed using the Cronbach Alpha scores obtained from the pilot study respondents. The study relied on primary data where questionnaire was used to collect the data. Data was then analysed using descriptive analysis such as descriptive statistics mean scores and standard deviations, frequencies distributions, and percentages. The relationship between the dependent and independent variables were assessed using linear regression. The findings of the study established that source of funds and stakeholder involvement significantly influenced project sustainability. Further, the study found that capacity building, leadership and government policy did not significantly influenced project sustainability. When all the variables were regressed collectively a model was generated that was fit for prediction of project sustainability. The study therefore reached a conclusion that involving stakeholders at all stages of the process and ensuring adequate funds are available for the project contributes greatly to the success of the project. The study recommends that an evaluation of capacity building and training needs assessment should be conducted in both rural and urban hospital settings in Kenya and an evaluation of the impact of leadership on the project sustainability should be evaluated within a wider geographical scope.