Designup

Category: HIV/AIDS and Desease Surveillance

  • Solution to Diarrheal Control in the NIS Region

    The project was implemented in the period of October 2007- December 2008 in partnership with National Center for Disease Control and Medical Statistics (NCDC), Ministry of Labour, Health, and Social Affairs (MoLHSA), and Pediatric Division of Tbilisi State Medical University, and with the financial support of PATH. The project aimed at enhancing Diarrhea Disease (EDD) Control Initiative in Georgia and carrying out activities in support of countries in the EE/CA region to implement their national diarrheal disease control plans.

    Several countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EE/CA) struggle with high rates of diarrheal disease morbidity and mortality among young children.

    These new interventions, rotavirus vaccines, zinc treatment, and low-osmolarity oral rehydration solution (ORS), complement existing approaches such as oral rehydration therapy (ORT), exclusive breastfeeding, and improved sanitation and hygiene, and will contribute significantly to meaningful reductions in morbidity and mortality in many countries. Introduction of these new interventions is hampered by a lack of awareness and diminished prioritization for diarrheal disease control. To overcome this, PATH has created the Diarrhea Disease (EDD) Control Initiative. The goal of EDD is to reprioritize diarrheal disease control at the country-level and develop or revise national diarrheal disease control plans to ensure rapid up-take of new prevention and treatment interventions, and to reinforce the use of established interventions.

    With this aim, under the leadership of PATH/CIF, national working group in Georgia developed the Strategic Plan to improve the control of DD in Georgia with focus on children under-5 for 2008-2010. The plan was presented in Tbilisi, Georgia on January 23-24, 2008 at the EURO/Central Asia Regional workshop “Rotavirus and Diarrheal Disease Control,” held in the frame of the Project. The workshop brought together 50 representatives from EE/CA countries, WHO, UNICEF, and GAVI to share the current evidence, and determine the level of interest, needs, priorities, and concerns of the stakeholders. Participants from following eight countries of EE/CA region attended the workshop: Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz republic, Moldova, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Participants included leaders and representatives of various sectors involved in child health care, infectious disease surveillance and control, and immunization.

    Other activities carried out in the frame of the project:

    Develop the National Quality Assurance Manual on Diarrheal Diseases for laboratory system. The Manual covers the following diseases: Salmonellosis, Shigellosis, Escherichiosis, Campylobacteriosis, Cholera, Adenovirus, Non-Polio Enterovirus, Rotavirus, Norovirus infections, Hepatitis A, Amebiasis. The QAM is available on Georgian, English and Russian languages;
    Review and provide Recommendations on the National Breastfeeding Indicators;
    Inform local pharmaceutical manufacturers on the new treatment methods (new formulation ORS, zinc) by providing useful materials, assisting in contact building to facilitate appearance of new products at the local market;
    Incorporate the modern recommendations for Diarrheal Diseases control into the Family Medicine and Paediatrics Residency Program training curricula;
    Update the National Immunization Program financial management tool (cMYP) that enables to estimate and project costs of the Rotavirus vaccination introduction in the routine immunization calendar.

  • Natia Rukhadze – CIF Researcher at the Global HIV/AIDS Initiatives Network (GHIN) international workshop in Dublin, Ireland

    Natia Rukhadze, presented preliminary research findings of the study “Effects of GFATM on Georgia’s Health System Development” to the global stakeholders. The selected topic for the presentation was “Sustainability of GFATM program supported activities in Georgia”.

    The workshop, which was held from 19-23 November 2007 was organized by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and hosted by the RCSI in Dublin.

    GHIN is a network of researchers in 21 countries who are working together to explore the influence of global health initiatives for HIV/AIDS on countries health systems. GHIN is co-funded by Irish Aid (Irish Dept of foreign affaires) and DANIDA (Danish Ministry of Foreign Affaires).

    The five day Dublin workshop brought together representatives of 15 research teams conducting studies in 15 countries receiving global health initiative funding for HIV/AIDS control. The workshop also included the coordinating teams based at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, as well as researchers from four other northern institutions.

    One day of the workshop (Thursday) included global stakeholders, and was hosted by Irish Aid. Stakeholders included representatives from the bilateral donors (Irish Aid, DANIDA, DFID and USAID), the World Bank, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, PEPFAR, UNAIDS, WHO and civil society organizations (Open Society Institute and Centre for Global Development). The one-day meeting with stakeholders had the following objectives: a) to disseminate preliminary findings from the first phase of research to stakeholders and colleagues; b) to debate the policy implications of preliminary findings and the needs of stakeholders in relation to 2008 research priorities, advocacy and dissemination.

  • Strengthening surveillance, IEC and procurement planning to address Avian Influenza in Georgia

    The project was funded by USAID/Caucasus and implemented by Curatio International Foundation (CIF) and Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) in June 2006-April 2007. The key partners were: Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs, DPH, NCDC, WHO, UNICEF, World Bank, DTRA, HHS/CDC, MoA, AgVantage. The aim of the project was to assist the Government of Georgia with well-coordinated approach on surveillance, IEC and procurement that would strengthen early warning systems, outbreak investigation, and effective response to a possible pandemic.

    The objective of the project was to strengthen surveillance/early warning system, procurement planning, and procurement of commodities to address the immediate need, information, education, communication. One of the major components of the project, surveillance, included following activities: assessment of current practices, needs and system design, development of surveillance standards and protocols, development of guidelines, training of public health workers and medical professionals, provision of ongoing on-the-job technical assistance, dissemination of methods, results and lessons learned. The second component for the project, procurement, it combined the need of immediate assessment in consultation with the Government and major donors/partners and in procurement such as the World Bank and DTRA; procurement and delivery of required commodities; development of a master inventory of all commodities required to support surveillance of pandemic influenza. The third component IEC was implemented through provision of input to the development of the National Communications Strategy; development of essential talking points for spokespersons; workshops with media representatives; roundtables with national and regional officials; development of guidelines for health workers on communication with the public.

    Over the project period of June 2006 to April 2007, PATH and CIF closely collaborated with the Government of Georgia and other stakeholders.

    Key partners included:

    Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs (MoLHSA)
    Department of Public Health (DPH) and a network of regional and rayon Centers of (????????)
    Public Health (CPH)
    National Center for Disease Control and Medical Statistics (NCDC)
    World Health Organization/European Region (WHO/EURO) and WHO/Georgia office
    United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
    World Bank (WB)
    US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
    Department of Health and Human Services/US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (HHS/CDC)
    Ministry of Agriculture (MoA)
    AgVantage Project
    The following activities were undertaken within the frame of the project:

    Training of public health personnel and health care professionals in the new surveillance procedures and measures to control AI infection in humans;
    Development of AI communication guidelines (“talking points” and “message maps”), followed by training for spokespersons and media representatives;
    Procurement and delivery of surveillance and laboratory supplies;
    Development of an inventory and forecasting tool to strengthen laboratory preparedness and ensure coordination of laboratory supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE).

  • Ukraine Mission Report

    CIF consultant George Gotsadze was invited by the country office of UNAIDS Ukraine to support the reconstruction of the management component of the Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Control Project, financed with the loan proceeds from the World Bank. The project has been suspended by the World Bank since April 2006 due to the slow implementation of the project. Three conditions were recommended by the World Bank to the Government for the continuation of the project. The Government had met required conditions and the suspension placed on the project was effectively lifted. Restructuring the project management and developing detailed implementation plan for the period December 2006-June 2007 were two conditions out of three for the Government of Ukraine to tackle with the help of the consultant.

  • Georgia Health Information and Disease Surveillance Reform

    Georgia Health Information and Disease Surveillance Reform project was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Aid/ Caucasus (USAID) and was implemented in partnership with Partners for Health Reform Plus (PHRplus) Project and Curatio International Foundation. The objective of the project was to strengthen Immunization Management Information System (MIS) and Vaccine Preventable Disease (VPD) Surveillance. The project ran from January 2002 until September 2006.

    The project was designed and implemented in coordination with principal stakeholders from the Interagency Coordinating Committee (ICC) of Georgia. ICC members were invited from the Department of Public Health, Ministry of Labour, Health, and Social Affairs (MoLHSA), the National Centre for Disease Control and Medical Statistics (NCDC), and international organizations, such as USAID and UN Agencies (UNICEF, WHO). The project aimed to provide assistance to the Government of Georgia to improve the Immunization Information System and the Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases to provide public health managers, providers of health services, and other stakeholders with appropriate information for making correct strategic, tactical, and operative decisions to keep the VPD epidemiological situation under control. The project also aimed to reduce the morbidity and mortality burden of these diseases on the population and to determine how to use the available vaccines and other programme resources more efficiently.

    Immunization MIS:

    The improved MIS model is based on an accurate census of the child population, performed by every health facility in its catchments area on an annual basis. The model enables the Health workers to more accurately determine target population, project vaccine needs, compute immunization coverage, and evaluate performance of individual facilities. The reformed MIS model also includes a number of innovations that allow better immunization program management and more rational use of resources at all levels. Countrywide implementation of the reformed MIS was supported by the Decree of the MoLHSA.

    The reform package included:

    Immunization MIS guidelines for health care providers and public health workers
    Job aids for public health and facility workers
    Software application “GEOVAC” for the district, regional and National levels. The application improves the process of data unification, enables to determine poorly performing administrative units, and identifies underlying reasons causing the deficiencies.

  • HIV/AIDS Mapping Study in the Central Asia Region

    Imperial College Consultants (Central Asia HIV/AIDS mapping study April-June 2004), together with the Curatio International Foundation, have designed and managed implementation of the Central Asia (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan) HIV/AIDS mapping study, which looked at the spread and the overlap of four epidemics (HIV, STI, TB and Drug Use). The study detected critical regional drivers for the epidemic spread that require regional response. The findings were used to advocate Central Asian governments for the regional HIV/AIDS control project.

  • Community Based Health Financing Project

    Community Based Health Financing (CBHF) project was implemented by Curatio International Foundation (CIF) through the Sub-Grant Agreement No: RFA-GC6-001-DT under the West Georgia Community Mobilization Initiative Project, which was administered by the Care International in Caucasus and was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). CIF started project implementation in August 2003 and completed it by August 2004, in accordance with the proposed implementation schedule.

    The main goal of the CBHF project was to decrease the financial access barriers for the poor members of the targeted communities by establishing Community managed and operated health care schemes, that mobilize community’s financial resources (designated for the health care) on a pre-paid basis.

    CIF identified the following objectives:

    Establish 12-18 sustainable CBHF schemes in selected geographic areas, involving communities and local healthcare providers;
    Utilize CBHF schemes to target the most needy within the communities;
    Develop and strengthen local capacity to manage CBHF schemes;
    Ensure future sustainability of CBHF schemes
    The following Project Activities took place during the implementation phase:

    Initial assessment of the situation in 6 regions of Western Georgia;
    Selection of communities that indicated interest in establishing CBHF schemes
    Through the participatory approach, designed CBHF schemes that were custom tailored to each selected community;
    Introduced the designed schemes to Community Based organization through Workshops;
    Identified the training needs of the Community groups and Health Providers;
    Developed training materials for the Communities and Health Providers based on the identified needs;
    Trained Fund Managers, and Health Providers;
    The CBHF Schemes were initiated in 8 targeted communities.