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I-TECH

Category: Pamela Kohler

Malawi

I-TECH has worked for almost twenty years to support health systems strengthening and the national response to the HIV epidemic in Malawi through significant contributions to the development of a robust health care workforce that provides high-quality HIV prevention, care, and treatment services.

In Malawi, I-TECH works through the secondment of well-qualified, experienced technical advisors (TAs) in the Ministry of Health (MOH) and other institutions to provide technical assistance for development and implementation of the national strategic plan led by the Government of Malawi (GOM). I-TECH TAs play an important role in ensuring timely national HIV/TB response by supporting prevention and control across the HIV care continuum. Additionally, I-TECH TAs support and facilitate surveillance and M&E for HIV/TB programs. This assistance enables the MOH to collect and manage up-to-date data to inform evidence-based decision-making by GOM and partners.

I-TECH technical assistance to Malawi MOH also covers the implementation of national surveillance systems to improve the generation of high-quality epidemiological data. Surveillance TAs work together with their GOM counterparts to improve storage and transportation conditions for lab samples, train staff in analysis of surveillance samples, and increase the functionality of surveillance systems to generate reliable and accurate data. The principal surveillance projects I-TECH TAs support in Malawi are Birth Defects Surveillance and HIV Recent Infection Surveillance. Most recently, I-TECH TAs have been placed at Public Health Institute of Malawi (PHIM) to support GOM with its emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Departments and units supported by I-TECH TAs include the National Tuberculosis Control Programme, Department of HIV and AIDS, Supply Chain of HIV Commodities, Monitoring and Evaluation of HIV Program Diagnostics, Reproductive Health Department, PHIM, National HIV Reference Laboratory, and the National Registration Bureau. I-TECH TAs also support clinical mentoring and M&E at Lighthouse Trust, a Center of Excellence for HIV care that was established in 2001.

Program Highlights

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South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is working to meet the health challenges facing its people, which include a high HIV prevalence compounded by high incidences of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and tuberculosis.

In 2003, at the request of the National and Provincial Departments of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Global AIDS Program, I-TECH began work in South Africa to support the government’s Operational Plan for Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care, Management, and Treatment.

In anticipation of National Health Insurance, the key health initiatives in South Africa currently focus on strengthening the primary health care system to provide greater access to quality care to the most vulnerable populations and to reach the UNAIDS 95-95-95 goals.

I-TECH in South Africa has worked with government and community leaders, individuals, and communities to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of the South African national HIV, STI, and tuberculosis responses. In all of its efforts, I-TECH has placed an emphasis on program assessment, monitoring and evaluation, and continuous quality improvement with sustainable local involvement to ensure programs can transition to local entities.

Current Program Highlights

Expanding Two-Way Texting for Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Clients in South Africa
I-TECH, in close partnership with voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) implementing partner, the Aurum Institute and technology partner, Medic, is conducting a five-year study funded by the National Institutes of Health to further evidence on the efficiency, safety, and scalability of two-way text-based (2wT) follow-up for VMMC services. 2wT is ...
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Past Programs

Health Information Systems in South Africa

I-TECH in South Africa has helped strengthen in-service learning platforms for the training and professional development of health care workers, ...
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