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Public Health Surveillance

I-TECH works in collaboration with key stakeholders, including communities, government entities, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to strengthen and implement surveillance programs focused on emerging disease threats, HIV recent infection, birth defects surveillance, and hospital acquired infections in sub-Saharan Africa. Eastern Europe, Asia, and South America.

In Malawi, I-TECH has supported the implementation of an active hospital-based birth surveillance system at four high-volume facilities in Malawi since 2016, and beginning in 2019, I-TECH began implementing recent HIV infection surveillance in April 2019.

In 2022, as part of the Integrated Next-generation Surveillance in Global Health: Translation to Action (INSIGHT to Action) project, I-TECH, the Peruvian Ministry of Health, the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, and CDC collaborated on a situational analysis to assess areas for potential strengthening of the Peruvian disease surveillance systems. In 2023, the INSIGHT for Action project launched the Triple Border Disease Surveillance Strengthening Program.

In Kenya, the I-TECH Kenya office is working with CDC on implementing surveillance for hospital acquired infections (HAI) in low resource settings, with a focus on surgical site infection surveillance.

Program Highlights

Field Epidemiology Training Program in Malawi
The Frontline Field Epidemiology Training Program (Frontline FETP) enhances the capacity of HIV and AIDS surveillance and strengthens health systems ...
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Global Health Security Agenda in Kenya
I-TECH Kenya’s Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA)-funded programs aim to advance the GHSA goals of preventing , detecting, and responding ...
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Strengthening Public Health Disease Surveillance
The Integrated Next-generation Surveillance in Global Health: Translation to Action (INSIGHT to Action) is a five-year cooperative agreement with the ...
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HIV Recency Surveillance in Malawi
The International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH), in collaboration with the Malawian Ministry of Health (MOH) and the ...
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Birth Defects Surveillance in Malawi
Malawi is one of first countries in Southeast Africa to respond to the World Health Organization’s call for robust birth ...
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National COVID-19 Emergency Response in Malawi
In collaboration with the Malawi Ministry of Health (MOH) and Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), I-TECH has ...
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Creating a Data Warehouse to Support COVID-19 Surveillance in Mauritius
The Digital Initiatives Group at I-TECH (DIGI) worked closely with the Mauritius Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) to implement ...
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Implementing a National Laboratory Information System in Mauritius
Since 2020, the Digital Initiative Group at I-TECH (DIGI)  has worked closely with the Mauritius Ministry of Health and Wellness ...
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One Health

Human disruptions to natural systems are causing climate change and other major environmental upheavals including biodiversity loss, zoonotic disease emergence, toxic pollution, heat emergencies, and flooding that will have major impacts on the health of human and animal populations. To reflect the intersectionality and interconnectedness of the health of humans, animals, and the shared (and rapidly changing) environment, I-TECH partners with the Center for One Health Research in designing and implementing programs that use the One Health approach to prevent, detect, and respond to emerging disease threats. I-TECH’s One Health approach focuses on strengthening disease surveillance systems and laboratories to detect and assess new infectious disease threats, as well as detecting “sentinel” cases of disease in humans and animals that are indicators of health impacts of environmental change.

In 2022, I-TECH formed the Global One Health Group to support the prevention, detection, and response to emerging disease threats throughout the world. By leveraging the strength and expertise of the University of Washington Center for One Health Research and other UW partners, I-TECH is providing effective training, technical assistance, and laboratory services to support capacity and systems strengthening in affected communities. The Global One Health Group includes experts in zoonotic and other infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, public health, animal health, environmental health, and implementation science.

Program Highlights

Strengthening Public Health Disease Surveillance

The Integrated Next-generation Surveillance in Global Health: Translation to Action (INSIGHT to Action) is a five-year cooperative agreement with the ...
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COVID-19

I-TECH provides technical assistance on the prevention and control of COVID-19 that ranges from training health care workers and facilities in infection prevention and control best practices to supporting the development of national policies and standard operating procedures. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I-TECH continues to work with ministries of health and other key stakeholders to ensure that laboratories, health facilities, and clinics are implementing and being trained in procedures to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19.

In addition to directly supporting COVID-19 prevention and control efforts, I-TECH has been working with governments and the ministries of health to ensure the continuity of HIV care and treatment by supporting clinicians via telephone consultations, developing messaging campaigns to connect people living with HIV (PLHIV) with pharmacies and clinics stocked with antiretroviral therapy (ART) medications, and helping PLHIV form community ART refill groups.

Program Highlights

National COVID-19 Emergency Response in Malawi

In collaboration with the Malawi Ministry of Health (MOH) and Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), I-TECH has ...
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Optimizing the COVID-19 Testing Process at the Airport in Mauritius

As a measure to help stop the spread of COVID-19, the Government of Mauritius began requiring that all arriving passengers ...
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Creating a Data Warehouse to Support COVID-19 Surveillance in Mauritius

The Digital Initiatives Group at I-TECH (DIGI) worked closely with the Mauritius Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) to implement ...
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I-TECH’s Samantha Dolan Wins Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Explorations Award

Samantha Dolan, a Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor with the Kenya team at the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH), has received the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Explorations award. Along with I-TECH Kenya’s Ian Njeru and I-TECH PI Peter Rabinowitz, professor in the Department of Global Health, Dolan has been awarded $100,000 to conduct a project over the next 18 months to improve digital data collection and monitoring of childhood immunizations at Kenyan health facilities.

Read more about Dolan and her project on the UW Department of Global Health website–and congratulations from the I-TECH family!

Global Health Security Agenda in Kenya

I-TECH Kenya’s Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA)-funded programs aim to advance the GHSA goals of preventing , detecting, and responding to disease threats to health security.

For the past 8 years, I-TECH Kenya has had a cooperative agreement with US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to work closely with the Kenya Ministry of Health (MOH) on multiple projects related to health security. The key objectives of these activities are preventing and reducing the likelihood of disease outbreaks, improving the efficiency and accuracy of the detection of communicable diseases, strengthening surveillance capacity and national and county levels for a rapid and effective response, enhancing Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practices to prevent the emergence and spread of pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria.

Prevention

Use IPC practices to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and other microbial threats:

  • Building capacity for IPC in health care facilities is a critical part of disease outbreak and AMR preparedness and prevention. In Kenya, I-TECH has partners with the CDC National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease and Kenya MOH to support two model hospitals in developing capacity for quality improvement measures for strengthening evidence-based IPC practices, infrastructure, and tools including hand hygiene, waste management, injection safety, surgical site infections, and antimicrobial stewardship. As part of this IPC work, I-TECH created and piloted e-learning modules for IPC. The modules aim to build clinical skills and technical knowledge in infection prevention and control and antimicrobial stewardship among health care workers in low-resource settings, and have now been adopted by WHO.
  • With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I-TECH Kenya was able to play a leadership role in the country in assessing and improving facility readiness at the national and local level to handle COVID-19 cases and maintain the health care workforce.
  • Current IPC activity is focused on surveillance for surgical site infections, an important cause of hospital acquired infections (HAIs).

Disease Prevention through Immunization Program Strengthening:

  • I-TECH collaborated with the Kenya MOH, CDC Global Health Protection Division, and the CDC Global Immunization Division, to build and roll out an online mobile platform for capturing immunization data at the point of care.

Detection

Laboratory Information Systems Strengthening:

  • In Kenya, I-TECH collaborated with the MOH and National Public Health Laboratory Services to enhance and strengthen laboratory information systems at the facility and national levels to improve timeliness and efficiency of testing and reporting results, specifically for AMR testing.

Response

Disease Surveillance and Response:

  • I-TECH supports the Kenya MOH Surveillance Unit in the rollout of trainings for health care workers to routinely and consistently use the real-time surveillance reporting system in Kenya.

Best Practices

To address the UNAIDS Sustainable Development Goals for elimination of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases by 2030, and the PEPFAR 3.0 goals, I-TECH leverages the technical expertise of its universities and partners, the broad experience of its funders, and best practices from 15 years of implementing programs.

 

Transition & Sustainability

The International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) works in partnership with host country governments, universities, professional associations, non-governmental organizations, private sector groups and funding agencies to strengthen local capacity and build sustainable health systems.

I-TECH follows a partnership model that guides the provision of technical services and technical assistance toward local ownership and sustainability, creating projects and programs that can be readily transitioned into national systems.

Based at the University of Washington, I-TECH draws upon a strong global network of public health professionals. The approach described in this document is customized in each country to respond to local needs and priorities. In addition, each I-TECH country office team aligns the model with the unique Partnership Framework Implementation Plans of the partner host government.

1. IDENTIFY NEEDS in consultation with host country governments

I-TECH works with host country governments to assess existing health systems and identify specific areas where the delivery of health care could be improved. This early collaboration helps to ensure that technical assistance accurately reflects the country’s specific health strategies and priorities.

2. STRUCTURE PARTNERSHIPS that integrate projects into existing systems

In each partnership, I-TECH develops roles, responsibilities, and timelines based on a long-term vision of integrating projects into existing national systems. As part of this vision, I-TECH recognizes and leverages the strengths and resources of national systems, building on and maximizing these efficiencies. The partnerships that emerge are attuned to the needs, realities, and structure of host country systems. Thus, they build and maintain lasting capacity within host country systems, maximize cost-effectiveness, and produce projects that can be more readily scaled up to meet national goals.

3. SECURE TECHNICAL RESOURCES from affiliated universities, partners, and the I-TECH network

As a center based at the University of Washington, I-TECH has direct access to a wide variety of technical specialists. In addition, I-TECH draws upon a robust global network of locally based public health professionals. These specialists provide a wide range of technical expertise to meet project needs.

4. PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND SERVICES tailored to actual needs and resources

I-TECH is committed to technical services and technical assistance approaches that build upon and support the existing strengths of local health systems. In addition, I-TECH prioritizes the use of local and regional expertise, an approach that builds the capacity of local experts to meet locally determined needs.

5. MONITOR PERFORMANCE; evaluate achievement of objectives and measure outcomes

I-TECH implements projects within a quality improvement framework designed to track progress in institutional capacity building and guide successful implementation. Using the framework, implementers monitor the progress of each project against specific benchmarks of success; for example, the progressive transfer of skills and capacity to local institutions. This methodology ensures that objectives are met and provides data to adjust approaches as projects evolve.

6. TRANSITION PROJECT into national systems to ensure sustainability

The ultimate goal of I-TECH’s partnership model is to improve health outcomes by strengthening local capacity and building sustainable health systems. I-TECH’s technical services and technical assistance are tailored from the initial planning stage to produce projects that can be successfully absorbed into national systems within mutually determined and realistic timeframes. Recognizing that a successful transition takes time, I-TECH offers transition support in a variety of technical areas including quality improvement and grant management.

HIV and STI Prevention

Program Highlights

Case Finding and Retention in Care in Mozambique
I-TECH works with the Mozambique Ministry of Health (MISAU) to expand a pilot project to provide an assisted partner services intervention. The project is aimed at encouraging patients newly diagnosed with HIV infection to disclose their status to their partners, and bring them to the clinic for testing ...
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Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe women (DREAMS) in Namibia
In 2017, I-TECH began the DREAMS program in Khomas and Zambezi regions. The DREAMS program aims to reduce HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) through a core package of evidence-based interventions across health, education, and social sectors. At a safe space such as a school or community ...
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Driving Collaboration with Local Implementation Partners in Zimbabwe
I-TECH builds local ownership and sustainability through collaborations throughout Zimbabwe. Under the CDC and PEPFAR awards, I-TECH has formed and leads two consortia – ZAZIC and ZimPAAC ...
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Health and Wellness National Survey of Youth in Namibia
Since 2017, I-TECH worked closely with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, Ministry of Health and Social Services, UNICEF, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Namibia Statistics Agency to implement a nationally representative survey on youth experiences as well as HIV incidence and prevalence. Survey results ...
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Quality Improvement

I-TECH’s quality improvement approach emphasizes ongoing assessments of program aims and operations. Country projects apply continuous quality improvement (CQI) strategies targeting both programmatic and management activities. Small-scale, practical Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles are used to construct improvement goals, test proposed changes, and implement adjustments, leading to increased quality of operations, service delivery, and care.

Program Highlights

Improving Data Quality and Strengthening Capacity in Côte d’Ivoire
Through a five-year cooperative agreement with the United States (US) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), I-TECH implements the Quality Improvement (QI) Solutions for Sustained Epidemic Control (QISSEC) project in Côte d’Ivoire. This project aims to support Côte d’Ivoire in reaching the ...
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Reducing HIV through Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision in Zimbabwe
Since 2013, the ZAZIC Consortium has been implementing Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) as part of a combination HIV prevention package approved by the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) in Zimbabwe. Unlike other VMMC programs in the region, the ZAZIC model uses an integrated approach, blending local clinic ...
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Achieving Targets through Performance-Based Financing in Zimbabwe
ZAZIC employs an innovative performance-based financing (PBF) system to speed progress towards ambitious voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) targets. The PBF schedule, which started at $25 USD and now varies from $6.50-$14 USD depending on the location and the circumcision team, is continually refined to set the program up for ...
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Laboratory Quality Stepwise Program in Cambodia
From September 2013 to September 2016, I-TECH conducted an implementation science research project to improve laboratory quality in Cambodia. The primary objective of the project was to implement a mentored laboratory quality stepwise implementation (LQSI) program to strengthen the quality and capacity of Cambodian hospital laboratories. As a result, target ...
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Human Resources for Health

The effective diagnosis, care, and treatment of infectious diseases require a skilled and motivated health care workforce, and sustainable systems to educate and train those workers. I-TECH uses a systemic approach to build the skills and knowledge of, and foster attitude changes in, health care staff and those who train and educate them.

The following model outlines I-TECH’s human resources for health-based approach to achieving comprehensive patient-centered care. Each component of the model, including a strong enabling environment, supports an optimized health workforce as the foundation of an effective service delivery system.

Program Highlights

Advanced Disease and Patient Care/Cryptococcal Antigen Screening and Treatment in Tanzania
High-quality, effective, and evidence-based service delivery for HIV care and prevention requires a broad continuum of integrated and linked services to ensure consistent and high-quality client management over time. With the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendation to “Treat All," eligibility for antiretroviral therapy (ART) among People Living with HIV (PLHIV) ...
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Building the Capacity of the Health Workforce in India
I-TECH India PL has worked with stakeholders to develop national training curricula for health care staff on delivering HIV care and treatment services. In addition, it has:

  • Planned and implemented training programs for various cadres of clinical and program staff;
  • Participated in medical officer training programs at the national ...
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Clinical Mentoring in Haiti
I-TECH introduced its clinical mentoring program in Haiti in 2006. A team of physicians, nurses, and psychologists provide technical assistance to 20 sites in the MSPP care and services network to help strengthen HIV- and AIDS-related services. During site visits, CHARESS mentors conduct clinical rounds ...
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Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) in Tanzania
For Tanzania to meet a WHO-specified target of one or more epidemiologists per 200,000 population [1] it will require an additional 250 epidemiologists who are well-trained and geographically distributed in all regions of the country. To help address this gap, I-TECH, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and ...
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