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I-TECH to Expand Psychosocial and Gender-based Violence Support in Trinidad and Tobago

Post categories: Caribbean Gender/Women & Girls Mental Health Pamela Collins Trinidad and Tobago
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From left to right: Conrad Mitchell, Program Coordinator, I-TECH Trinidad; Belinda White, Clinical Psychologist, I-TECH Trinidad; Heather Rodney, Chairperson, NACC Secretariat; Ian Ramdahin, Permanent Secretary, NACC Secretariat; Dr. Omoye Imoisili, Senior Public Health Analyst, HRSA; Aliyah Abdul Wakil, Strategic Information, HRSA; Alana Lum Lock Cardinez, Program Advisor, I-TECH Trinidad; Misti McDowell, Program Director, I-TECH headquarters.

Recently, representatives from the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) met with health officials in Trinidad and Tobago to discuss potential areas of support for strengthening the national response to HIV and AIDS in the country.

The meeting attendees discussed strengthening advocacy for people living with HIV (PLHIV); psychosocial support for vulnerable PLHIV; and providing services at the intersection of HIV and AIDS and gender-based violence (GBV).

With support from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), I-TECH has worked in Trinidad and Tobago since 2009, collaborating with the Ministry of Health and other partners to focus on healthcare worker training and technical assistance to improve the quality of care for PLHIV.

“I’ve always been impressed with the team and activities in Trinidad and Tobago,” says Misti McDowell, I-TECH Program Director, “especially the integration of much-needed mental health services into the HIV program.”

The assessment “Strengthening Delivery and Oversight of Mental Health and Psychosocial Services for PLHIV in Trinidad and Tobago” was completed by I-TECH and shared with the National AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC), in an effort to identify future areas of collaboration. One of the intended outcomes is the establishment of a technical working group of national stakeholders who will collaborate with I-TECH to craft a strategy for implementing all priority interventions.

“The findings of this assessment revealed that there is a tremendous need for improved mental health support specifically in the areas of assessment and treatment throughout the national HIV treatment and care sites,” says Belinda White, Clinical Psychologist with I-TECH. “One treatment and care site reported that as much as 90% of its client population experiences symptoms of mental illnesses.”

The most common mental illnesses encountered within treatment and care sites include depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia; substance use disorder is also common within the PLHIV client population. A key area of interest is the integration of the Collaborative Care Model into the already existing treatment and care system, in a manner that incorporates the unique features of each site. The Collaborative Care Model is an evidence-based approach to treating common mental health conditions (e.g., depression, anxiety) in primary care settings and was developed at the University of Washington.

I-TECH also assisted the NACC with the establishment of the National HIV Helpline and will continue to provide support over the next six months, while working to transition the program fully to NACC. This includes support for the HIV Helpline Coordinator and Active Listeners, as well as training of new Active Listeners.

“We must continue fighting the stigma associated with living with HIV,” says Conrad Mitchell, Program Coordinator. “It’s important to continue to battle misinformation and to have that coupled with positive true-life experiences. The Helpline–manned by persons living with HIV together, with HIV NGO advocates and allies–provides a unique opportunity to combat misinformation though empathy and education in direct, one-on-one engagements with the public.”

A 2017 Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) National Women’s Health Survey for Trinidad and Tobago[1] showed that more than 30 percent of women in Trinidad and Tobago had reported having experienced at least one incidence of either physical or sexual partner violence. The NACC is seeking support related to GBV and the risks it poses to the health and well-being of PLHIV. Activities would focus on raising awareness and providing resources and psychosocial support for vulnerable groups.

“There is a lack of general knowledge about GBV and what it entails among the public as well as in some health care settings,” says Ms. White. “There is an opportunity to yield enormously positive results by increasing the knowledge and insight of health care workers, and people living with HIV, regarding GBV.

“My hope is that the information that is shared empowers people living with HIV to advocate for themselves if they come to the realization that they are experiencing,” she continues, “and to make contact with the local resources that are available to receive the necessary support.”

I-TECH will also seeks to help strengthen civil society organizations through enrollment in I-TECH-developed courses such as UW Leadership and Management in Health, Fundamentals of Implementation Science, Project Management in Global Health, Global Mental Health, and Policy Development and Advocacy for Global Health.

[1] https://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/National-Women-Health-Survey-for-Trinidad-and-Tobago-Final-Report.pdf

 

I-TECH Attends IAS 24th International AIDS Conference

Post categories: Cote d'Ivoire India Malawi Tanzania Ukraine Zimbabwe
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Members of the I-TECH Partner Network attend the IAS AIDS Conference in Montreal, Canada 29 July through 2 August 2022. L-R: Abhina Aher (I-TECH India), Fernanda Freistadt (I-TECH), Pamela Collins (I-TECH), Blessing Mushwange (Zim-TTECH), Precious Moyo (PZAT), Yao He (I-TECH). Photo Credit: I-TECH

The International AIDS Society (IAS) hosted the 24th International AIDS Conference on 29 July – 2 August 2022 in Montreal, Canada, and virtually. The theme this year was “re-engage and follow the science” to highlight that the HIV and AIDS epidemics are not over and still require significant global support. The conference brings together HIV researchers and experts for presentations and discussions on a wide-range of HIV- and AIDS-related topics.

This year, the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) and its partner network organizations participated in a number of activities at the IAS International AIDS Conference. Pamela Collins, MD, MPH, I-TECH Executive Director, participated in a pre-conference meeting panel on HIV and non-communicable disease integration hosted by the NCD Alliance. Dr. Collins’ discussion focused on the social stigma related to HIV and mental health conditions, specifically the impact stigma has on care and the role that integration has in addressing stigma.

In addition to the panel, I-TECH representatives also presented posters from programs in Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania, and Ukraine:

Additionally, representatives from I-TECH’s partner network organizations and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) presented findings from I-TECH-supported programs in India, Malawi, and Zimbabwe:

I-TECH in Côte d’Ivoire Hosts National HIV QI Conference

Post categories: Caryl Feldacker Cote d'Ivoire Quality Improvement
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On 18-19 May 2022, the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH), in collaboration with the Programme National de Lutte Contre le Sida (PNLS; National AIDS Control Program) under the coordination of the General Directorate of Health, hosted its first national HIV prevention, care, and treatment quality improvement (QI) conference in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The conference brought together over 100 representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Agency for International Development, the Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and PEPFAR implementing partners from around the country to agree on a national approach to QI; update the national strategic plan for improving Quality, Health, and Safety; and learn about the unique QI approach being implemented by I-TECH through the Quality Improvement Solutions for Sustained Epidemic Control (QISSEC) program.

Dr. Nathalie Krou Danho
I-TECH QISSEC Project Director, Dr. Nathalie Krou Danho, describes the QISSEC approach at the National HIV QI Conference. Photo Credit: I-TECH

“This is an historic workshop. [There have been] many conversations and meetings with the PNLS/Ministry of Health and USG agencies [over the years] to gather all the stakeholders to harmonize QI interventions,” says Dr. Jean T. N’Guessan, QISSEC QI Consultant. “This national QI workshop was a success because the leadership was carried by the PNLS, the national Program to fight AIDS, and supported by I-TECH.”

The goal of the conference was to elevate QI practices on a national level and work with stakeholders to adopt and integrate the QISSEC QI approach into their own HIV prevention, care, and treatment programs to improve HIV services while identifying and addressing gaps in care (e.g., viral load monitoring, antiretroviral therapy uptake).

“In Côte d’Ivoire, all hospitals—both public and private—are required to implement continuous quality improvement for all care and services, which can lead to a one-size-fits-all approach to QI,” explains Dr. Nathalie Krou Danho, I-TECH QISSEC Project Director. “This workshop made it possible for us to identify gaps in national standards for the prevention, care, support, and treatment of HIV infection, while also providing an effective QI framework that helps clarify the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders implementing QI initiatives across the country.”

QI interventions are often applied unilaterally across all sites regardless of analysis of the sites’ specific needs, but I-TECH’s approach tailors each QI intervention and related activities to the needs of the site according to self-identified gaps by the sites. This approach allows sites to be involved in each step of the process, reinforces skills and knowledge, and ultimately creates a sustainable approach to QI. By using the QISSEC approach, HIV programs around Côte d’Ivoire will be able to align their QI work and substantially improve HIV services, while also fulfilling PEPFAR priorities and targets.

“Since I-TECH’s approach works in collaboration with all levels (national, district, and site) of the health system pyramid, we are able to coach sites to develop a QI plan based on the identified gaps, implement it, as well as monitor and evaluate it,” says Dr. Nathalie Krou Danho. “Through data analysis of MER indicators and SIMS data, the approach takes into account the organizational improvement of the quality and the services offered to the patients.”

The QISSEC project, a five-year cooperative agreement with HRSA under PEPFAR, works with local partners to implement customized site-level QI interventions using patient-centered approaches in clinics to ensure a facility-owned and locally led response to the persistent challenges seen in HIV prevention, care, and treatment programs (e.g., HIV testing, retention, suppression, PrEP, TB prevention) and support Côte d’Ivoire in reaching the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets. The project has initially been focused on 60 priority sites throughout the country but plans to expand to Abidjan’s 75 high-impact sites next year, bringing the total number of sites to 101.

“The QISSEC project aims to strengthen ownership of continuous QI at all levels of the health system pyramid,” says Dr. Nathalie Krou Danho. “To do this, I-TECH collaborates with all national stakeholders, including PEPFAR implementing partners and civil society organizations who can help motivate beneficiaries to take part in QI efforts and extend its QI approach to the community.”

I-TECH’S WORK IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE IS SUPPORTED BY THE HEALTH RESOURCES AND SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (HRSA) OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (HHS) UNDER 1 U1NOA45176-01-00 THE CONTENT OF THIS POST IS THE AUTHOR’S AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS THE OFFICIAL POSITION OR POLICY OF, NOR SHOULD ANY ENDORSEMENTS BE INFERRED BY HRSA, HHS, OR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.

From Beneficiaries to Mentors: Three Women Pass Their DREAMS On to Others

Post categories: Gender/Women & Girls HIV and STI Prevention Stefan Wiktor Zimbabwe
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A group of DREAMS ambassadors in Zimbabwe. Photo credit: Zim-TTECH

After facing incredible obstacles, three resilient 22-year-old women from Tsholotsho District, Zimbabwe, found their lives intersecting: Sitheni, Clemencia, and Faith are DREAMS ambassadors, equipping adolescent girls and young women with skills to reduce their vulnerability to contracting HIV–and helping them to find their own strengths.

DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe) is a PEPFAR-funded program that aims to reduce HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women through not only prevention and treatment, but also a core curriculum that addresses HIV prevention, financial literacy, and gender-based violence (GBV). Participants can also access services such as HIV testing, family planning, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), counseling, and screening for GBV.

The International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) has been supporting the Zimbabwe Technical Assistance, Training and Education Center for Health (Zim-TTECH) and its ZimPAAC consortium to implement the DREAMS program since 2020. To date, nearly 20,000 girls and young women in Zimbabwe have completed the primary DREAMS curriculum, Health for Life.

Sitheni, Clemencia, and Faith were initially enrolled in the DREAMS program as beneficiaries, having turned to transactional relationships (trading sex for money or necessities) to survive poverty amid the deepening economic crisis in Zimbabwe. They now use their own experiences to give back to young women who face similar choices.

Sitheni had to abandon her life-long goal of attending university to support her parents and four siblings; carrying the burden of sole provider for her family took a toll on her. When earnings from her part-time jobs weren’t enough, she became involved in sexual relationships with older, cross-border traders—known as omalayitsha—to make extra money.

Once enrolled in the DREAMS program, she thrived within the Health for Life courses, which cover financial literacy, social asset building, condom education, and violence and HIV prevention. “I encourage young girls in my community not to depend on men, but to use their skills instead of waiting to be given money by men who will abuse them,” Sitheni says.

Training and services are often provided in a safe space such as a school or community center, where participants meet with a mentor trained to deliver the Health for Life curriculum.

“At the moment I mentor 140 adolescent girls and young women aged 15-24 in the district,” says Faith, who also dated older men for money in order to make ends meet. “It is my duty to link adolescents with the district clinical nurse to access services at health facilities and safe spaces. I also encourage women to support people living with HIV/AIDS in the community. I teach them about human rights and encourage them to utilize their talents to make a living.”

Another part of Faith’s job is enrolling and following up on beneficiaries as well as supporting community-based facilitators who teach social asset building. This includes facilitating relationships and connections within DREAMS safe spaces to share encouragement and survival skills.

These safe spaces were critical to providing hope and new options for Clemencia. “After my father passed away, there was no one to pay for my school fees,” she says. “I came to my wits’ end, and I ended up exchanging sex for livelihood. At that time, it seemed the only viable option.”

Clemencia traded sex for two-and-a-half years, placing her among those at highest risk for HIV acquisition in Zimbabwe.[1] “Luckily for me, I did not get infected with HIV,” she says. “Ever since joining DREAMS, I have become empowered, and I know how to protect myself from sexual violence.”

Thanks to what she learned in her financial literacy sessions, Clemencia has started a small business of breeding hens and selling them to community members. “I also sell clothes for extra income,” says Clemencia, who now encourages other young women to complete their financial literacy sessions so they can start their own businesses and become independent.

Faith is thrilled to be able to foster this independence, as well. “Little did I know that I could make an honest living without anyone having expectations from me,” she says. “I am now able to encourage other girls and young women to stop engaging in transactional relationships. I am able to do this because I have been mentored and I have knowledge about HIV/AIDS and violence against women.”

 

[1] Chiyaka T, Mushati P, Hensen B et al. Reaching young women who sell sex: Methods and results of social mapping to describe and identify young women for DREAMS impact evaluation in Zimbabwe. PLoS One. 2018 Mar 15;13(3):e0194301. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194301. eCollection 2018.

 

I-TECH Celebrates 20 Years

Post categories: Ann Downer Caribbean HIV and STI Prevention HIV Care and Treatment HIV Counseling and Testing Key Populations Malawi Nursing/HCW Cadres Pamela Collins Zimbabwe
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In 2008, I-TECH Mozambique celebrated I-TECH’s sixth birthday. “Sempre crescendo” = “always growing.”

On April 1, the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) celebrates 20 years since its founding. It has since grown into the largest center in the Department of Global Health (DGH) and one of the largest centers at the University of Washington (UW).

“We are proud to mark this milestone,” says Dr. Pamela Collins, Executive Director of I-TECH, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Professor of Global Health at UW. “For 20 years I-TECH has helped to save lives through its support of public health systems in the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Over the years, our scope has broadened, but responsive partnerships with ministries of health, collaborating NGOs, and our donors have been central to the work.”

I-TECH comprises a global network, operating in 17 countries, that fosters healthier communities around the world through equitable partnerships in research, training, and public health practice. Its work is rooted in health care training and draws on a culturally rich community that includes UW faculty, global partners, and U.S. and global staff and students. This community of people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and opinions encourages learning from one another while working toward high quality, compassionate, and equitable health care.

“COVID-19 has reminded me, and many of us, about the critical and life-saving role of health care workers, a group that often lacks proper support,” says Ivonne X. “Chichi” Butler, Associate Director at I-TECH. “At the same time, collectively, we have come to understand the urgent need for stronger and better prepared health systems to respond to the COVID crisis.

“At I-TECH, these concerns have been at the heart of our work for the past 20 years,” she continues. “We have invested–and continue to invest–in health workers and in the systems in which they work. I am proud to be part of a center that has transformed the delivery of HIV care and treatment in so many countries and that truly puts individuals and communities at the forefront to meet their particular needs.”

I-TECH began in 2002 with its first award, the International AIDS Education & Training Center (IAETC) grant. The IAETC was administered by the Center for Health Education and Research (CHER), within the Department of Health Services (now the Department of Health Systems and Population Health). This was one of CHER’s first forays into what would become known as “global health.”

“The IAETC award was the first of its kind at UW,” says Shelly Tonge-Seymour, Associate Director of I-TECH, who has been with the center for 20 years, “the first to translate lessons from the U.S. to improve the training of health care workers and delivery of care globally.”

With the advent of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2003, I-TECH’s portfolio expanded rapidly, reflecting the evolution of PEPFAR from “emergency” to a longer-term investment in health systems strengthening. I-TECH became an official UW center in 2008, a year after joining UW’s new Department of Global Health at the invitation of Dr. King Holmes, then-chair of DGH. “It became clear that we had grown so large that we needed our own administrative core,” says Tonge-Seymour.

Through its work with PEPFAR, I-TECH’s efforts have contributed meaningfully to the huge advancements in HIV prevention, care, and treatment seen across the globe, with a particular emphasis on groups that have been marginalized or stigmatized.

“One of the most powerful changes in the past 20 years in the Caribbean Region has been in the attitude toward key population groups,” says Natalie Irving-Mattocks, Executive Director of the Caribbean Training and Education Center for Health (C-TECH), one of I-TECH’s independent partner organizations. “Through the Key Populations Preceptorship Program, I-TECH has contributed significantly to better health in the Caribbean region by training healthcare workers to provide nonjudgmental, high-quality, comprehensive HIV care to men who have sex with men, transgender women, and sex workers.”

C-TECH is just one of the independent organizations I-TECH has helped to establish worldwide. Once operating as I-TECH Zimbabwe, the team at the Zimbabwe Technical Assistance, Training, and Education Center for Health (Zim-TTECH) has a long history of partnering with local organizations and community-based health care workers to increase access to care.

“I’ve been involved with I-TECH for its entire 20 years, and the most impactful thing for me has been the contribution I-TECH has made in Zimbabwe to supporting the development of lay cadres into primary counselors,” says Abisha Jonga, Senior Program Manager at Zim-TTECH. “This program created a career path for so many, made HIV counseling services more accessible to the general population, demystified HIV testing, and shaped the individuals’ lives.”

Dr. Batsi Makunike, Executive Director of Zim-TTECH, agrees that fostering local connection has been the key to success. “I am particularly proud of the fact that I-TECH has succeeded in nurturing local organizations,” says Dr. Makunike. “Providing full support without competition–that is huge. Without I-TECH, there would be no Zim-TTECH.”

Malawi has seen its health care landscape change dramatically in the past 20 years and is now close to meeting the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets for the elimination of HIV. Since 2008, I-TECH has partnered with the Malawi Ministry of Health’s Department for HIV and AIDS and helped to generate pioneering policy initiatives such as the 2011 adoption of Option B+ for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. Option B+ provides universal, lifelong ART for pregnant and breastfeeding women. Based on Malawi’s documented success, the World Health Organization formally adopted Option B+ as a global policy in 2013.

“We truly believe that I-TECH has significantly contributed to the prevention of thousands of infant infections and AIDS deaths among children, adolescents, and mums and dads in Malawi,” says Dr. Andreas Jahn, Senior Technical Advisor with I-TECH Malawi. “We have walked this journey with a whole generation of Malawian HIV program colleagues, and we have learned a tremendous amount from each other.”

I-TECH’s funding has grown from $500,000 for its initial award in 2002 to a cumulative total of more than $1 billion. The center currently has 26 awards, harnessing UW technical expertise in multiple technical areas from mental health to electronic health information systems to global health security and emerging health threats.

As I-TECH has adapted to changing needs, at its core remains a commitment to creating equitable partnerships and facilitating knowledge sharing throughout the I-TECH network, which includes I-TECH’s own country offices, independent partner organizations fledged from I-TECH, ministries of health, academic institutions, community groups, and others.

“When I reflect on the success of I-TECH in reaching the age of 20, two observations keep coming up for me,” says Dr. Ann Downer, co-founder and former Executive Director of I-TECH and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Global Health. “One is about the power of unity. I believe that the ability of a diverse group of individuals and teams to hold a common vision and set of values generates resilience. This unity allows I-TECH to continue operating after 20 years with integrity and grace across enormous geographic, linguistic, and cultural borders and despite regular economic and social challenges.

“The other observation is about the importance of encouraging leadership from all parts of an organization,” she continues. “This requires us to embrace the value of humility and results in our ability to listen and learn. Both are critical actions for successful work anywhere but are essential for working ethically on a global stage.”

The I-TECH story continues to unfold. From a modest grant with limited staff to a vital, resilient, and animated worldwide network of more than 1,600 dedicated personnel, I-TECH will continue to work alongside its global partners in its commitment to stronger health systems and safer, healthier communities.

“There’s so much to celebrate and a wealth of lessons to light the way forward,” says Dr. Collins. “In this era of pandemic, war, and fractured communities, our vision for health is needed now more than ever.”

I-TECH Presents at CROI 2022

Post categories: Index Testing/Partner Notification Mozambique Namibia
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The International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) presented findings from two I-TECH-supported programs during the 2022 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI). The annual conference took place virtually this year, from 12-16 February 2022, and brought together researchers, academics, and experts to discuss and present on scientific achievements and new research.

During the “Shifting Paradigms in HIV Testing” oral abstract session that was held on 16 February 2022, representatives from I-TECH presented two abstracts (full text linked below) that focused on findings from two HIV partner notification programs in Mozambique and Namibia:

To learn more about CROI, download conference resources, or to peruse the 2022 CROI program, please visit the CROI 2022 website.

Note: Bold name indicates presenting author.

Nancy Puttkammer Selected for WomenLift Leadership Journey

Post categories: Leadership & Management Nancy Puttkammer
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Dr. Nancy Puttkammer

Nancy Puttkammer, MPH, PhD, was recently selected to the third cohort of the Leadership Journey at WomenLift Health. The initiative, which runs from March 2022 to February 2023, is designed to support women through the challenges and opportunities of leadership positions in global health, with the ultimate goal of expanding its network of talented women leaders.

Dr. Puttkammer is Principal Investigator at the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) and Assistant Professor in the University of Washington (UW) Department of Global Health (DGH). She also serves as Program Director for the Doctor in Global Health and Leadership Practice (DrGH), and her project for the Leadership Journey will focus on augmenting the emphasis on women and leadership within the DrGH curriculum and program.

“I am thrilled to be part of the 2022 US Leadership Journey cohort—an amazing, diverse group of 30 women leaders,” says Dr. Puttkammer. “The participants come from prominent US universities, the World Bank, USAID, CDC, non-profits, and others. They each come with compelling stories, experience, and interests. Although the process has just launched, I am already grateful for the personal insights and the network I am gaining.”

As part of the Leadership Journey, each participant works on a focal project with support from senior mentors and peers. Dr. Puttkammer’s focal project will enhance the DrGH educational framework and curriculum to bring a gendered lens to leadership development, as well as develop mentorship opportunities for students to work with women leaders within and outside of UW.

“I am confident that participating in the Leadership Journey will not only enrich me,” says Dr. Puttkammer, “but will also really help me to enhance the value of the DrGH program for the next generation of global health leaders—both women and men—who join the program.”

The DrGH advances leadership development, including skills to plan evidence-based strategies and programs, catalyze resources, build partnerships across organizational boundaries, motivate teams, strengthen national policies, and manage and lead effective programs in a variety of settings. The DrGH program includes an initial year of didactic courses at UW in Seattle, followed by experiential learning rotations of 6-12 months in three different types of host organizations, such as Ministries of Health, bilateral and multilateral institutions, non-governmental organizations, and private sector companies. UW has recently extended offers of admission for the second DrGH cohort.

 

 

 

I-TECH Remembers Dr. Paul Farmer

Post categories: Uncategorized
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Dr. Paul Farmer and Dr. Rachel Chapman during a discussion with UW students reflecting on equity, race, and global health.
Dr. Paul Farmer and Dr. Rachel Chapman during a discussion with UW students on equity, race, and global health. Photo by Maryska Valentine // Courtesy of UW DGH.

The International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) and its partner network were saddened to learn about the unexpected passing of Dr. Paul Farmer. He was not only a leader in the field of global health, but an inspiration to those who knew him and an advocate for social justice. His work shaped the practices of global health and touched countless lives around the world.

As a co-founder of Partners in Health (PIH), a global health and social justice organization dedicated to strengthening health systems and providing access to high-quality healthcare, Dr. Farmer worked to reduce health inequities and provide care to those most in need. He is remembered for his compassion in his humanitarian work and dedication to the PIH mission.

“I am grateful to have known Paul, and like countless others, I benefitted from his kindness, intellect, and zeal,” says Dr. Pamela Collins, I-TECH Executive Director. “This is a devastating loss for the community, but I know that his work will live on as each of us works for compassionate, equitable, and quality health care wherever we may be.”

Dr. Farmer was an inspiration to the global health community. His legacy will continue through the work of PIH and the lives he touched around the world. We thank Dr. Farmer for his life of service and dedication to global health. He will be deeply missed.

To learn more about the impact Dr. Farmer’s work, see these tributes from PIH, NPR, and New York Times.

I-TECH Supports First VACS in Namibia

Post categories: Gabrielle O'Malley Gender/Women & Girls HIV Care and Treatment Namibia
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The International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH), under the leadership of Government of Namibia ministries overseeing child welfare and health and in close collaboration with the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), supported the implementation of Namibia’s first Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS).

Cover of Namibia VACS Report
The final Namibia VACS report was published by the Government of Namibia and Together for Girls, a global partnership working to end violence against children, on 28 September 2021. Photo Credit: Together for Girls: www.togetherforgirls.org/.

VACS are national surveys that measure the prevalence and impact of violence on children and youth around the world. The survey results help inform future program decisions and policy approaches to ensure the safety of children and youth. On 28 September 2021, the Day of the Namibian Child, the Government of Namibia published the final Namibia VACS report.

The survey, funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and led by the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare (MGEPESW), interviewed households with children aged 13-24 years in all 14 regions of Namibia from March 2019 through June 2019.

Survey operations—including data collection by field teams, data generation, and analysis—were carried out by the NSA, the central statistical authority responsible for all official statistics in Namibia. “It has been a pleasure working together with the Ministry of Gender Equality, the University of Washington, I-TECH, and CDC on this important survey,” says Ottilie Mwazi, Namibia’s Deputy Statistician General. “Our team has learned a lot from the process and is very proud to have contributed important data that will help to improve child welfare in Namibia.”

Prior to data collection, I-TECH alongside CDC colleagues hosted a two-week training for 130 enumerators, focused on best practices for data collection, interview techniques, and key aspects of the survey protocols. In addition to supporting VACS training, I-TECH and the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) ensured all selected enumerators were trained and certified by the Namibia Institute of Pathology to conduct HIV rapid testing so any survey respondent aged 14-24 years who did not know their HIV status and wanted a test during their interview could immediately be tested.

In total, 5,191 individual interviews among 6,042 households (86.35% overall response rate) and 3,232 HIV rapid tests were conducted as part of data collection. Any respondent testing positive for HIV during the survey was linked to psychosocial and HIV/AIDS care and support in line with well-established MoHSS guidelines and the survey protocol.

Expanding Post-Violence Clinical Care

The survey results have informed important initiatives across Namibia’s wider social welfare and health systems. MGEPESW has moved forward with drafting the National Action Plan on Violence against Children and has accelerated the training of various child welfare stakeholders such as police officers and social workers, while operationalizing the establishment of more child shelters in several regions.

“The data coming out of Namibia’s VACS have really brought home how prevalent and serious violence against children and adolescents really is,” says Helena Andjamba, Director for Child Welfare at MGEPESW. “Having these hard facts readily available has helped greatly during our policy and planning engagement with multiple stakeholders during the past year. We are now moving forward with the Ministry of Justice in drafting a new Child Justice Bill, and at the same time we are engaged with the Ministry of Education on strengthening the National School Safety Framework.”

Following the completion of the survey, the MoHSS convened a technical working group with I-TECH, the World Health Organization, UNFPA, Project Hope, and other stakeholders to coordinate and strengthen first-line post-violence clinical care in primary health care facilities across Namibia. I-TECH also supported the compilation of clinical guidance on emergency care for survivors of sexual violence and its inclusion in the 2021 edition of the Namibia Standard Treatment Guidelines published by the MoHSS.

Much of the focus during the second half of 2021 was on integrating post-gender-based violence (GBV) clinical care in MoHSS HIV/AIDS clinics and antiretroviral therapy (ART) services throughout Namibia. As part of this work, I-TECH conducted a mentorship training-of-trainers for 28 HIV clinical providers, nurses, and testing services staff. These mentors now provide ongoing technical guidance and supportive supervision to frontline health workers through monthly facility visits.

To further improve post-violence care in clinics, I-TECH compiled a GBV care implementation guide for Namibian healthcare providers. This includes elaboration of best practices, as well as a suite of materials including posters, pamphlets, job aids, and a pocket booklet for communities, clients, health workers, and health facility managers, respectively. An intimate partner violence/GBV screening tool to be administered to ART patients with persistent high viral loads is also currently being piloted in ten health facilities.

HIV Impact Assessment Shows Significant Progress in Malawi

Post categories: Gabrielle O'Malley HIV and STI Prevention HIV Care and Treatment HIV Counseling and Testing Integrating Research and Practice Malawi
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Tiwonge Chimpandule, I-TECH Malawi’s Strategic Information Officer, presents the results of the 2020/21 Malawi Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (MPHIA) to guest of honor Chrissy Kalamula Kantaso, Deputy Minister of Health (right). Looking on are Jeremy Neitzke, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy (center) and Dr. Rose Nyirenda, Director, HIV and AIDS Department in the Ministry of Health (left). Photo credit: I-TECH Malawi

On World AIDS Day, December 1, staff from the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) convened with the Ministry of Health (MOH), Columbia University’s ICAP, and other national stakeholders in Malawi to present the results of the 2020-21 Malawi Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (MPHIA). The commemoration, with the theme of “End Inequalities, End AIDS, End Pandemics,” was held at Bumba Primary School grounds in Rumphi District.

Preliminary results of the assessment, led by the MOH and ICAP, show that the national HIV testing program, supported by I-TECH, has achieved a significant increase in the awareness of status among HIV-positive adults—from 77% in 2016 to 90.9% in 2020-21.

Malawi has also made great strides toward reaching the UNAIDS 95-95-95 Fast Track targets, surpassing both the second 95 (results indicate that 98% of those who know their status are initiated on treatment) and third 95 (results indicate 97% of those on treatment are virally suppressed).

The assessment will be critical to informing future programming, says Dr. Rose Nyirenda, Director of the Ministry of Health’s HIV and AIDS Department. “The 2020-21 MPHIA has produced a wealth of information that will be critical for tailoring our services and to refine strategies for closing the remaining gaps,” says Dr. Nyirenda.

The HIV and AIDS Department also exhibited commodities (antiretroviral medications, testing kits, opportunistic infection (OI) and sexually transmitted infection (STI) medicines, condoms, voluntary medical male circumcision kits) that are procured and managed through the Supply Chain and Logistics Unit.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the organization that conducted the 2020-21 Malawi Population-based HIV Impact Assessment. This assessment was led by the Malawi Ministry of Health and Columbia University’s ICAP.