Infectious Diseases

Community Health Workers Making a Difference for Pediatric HIV Clients in South Sudan

rgoodwin — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 17:44:30 +0000

Community Health Workers Making a Difference for Pediatric HIV Clients in South Sudan rgoodwin March 27, 2024

April 01, 2024

During World Health Worker Week we’re paying tribute to the wide range of #SafeSupportedHealth Workers who are making a difference in tough situations.

In South Sudan, community outreach volunteers (COVs) like Lawrence Monday play a key role in the HIV response—linking health facilities and communities to extend services and acting as peers to people living with HIV. Under the supervision of an adherence nurse, Lawrence supports 160 clients on HIV treatment, including 15 children.

One of the children Lawrence helps is Timo*, who had a rough start in life. He was born in 2017 into a low-income family in Juba. His biological father was never around to help him as a baby, and his 25-year-old single mother had no job to support him or his two older siblings. She often went to the market to dance with Timo wrapped on her back, and well-wishers would give her some money or food items, which would help feed them for a few days.

Diagnosis and struggle

Timo’s mother knew she was HIV-positive. Although she had been receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) from Nyakuron Primary Health Care Center (PHCC), when she became pregnant with Timo in 2016, she refused to take treatment and didn’t attend antenatal appointments. She feared she would be stigmatized at the health facility because she knew people who worked there.

When it was time for Timo to be born, his mother had a home delivery without a skilled health care provider. When Timo was three months old, both he and his mother became very ill. He couldn’t breastfeed well, became restless, and started bleeding from the navel. His 60-year-old grandmother rushed him to Nyakuron PHCC where he was assessed and diagnosed with HIV, and immediately enrolled on ART.

With the help of his grandmother, Timo successfully attended treatment for the following year. However, his ailing mother was often intoxicated. She would leave the children with her mother and dash down to a local spree to drink.

Timo’s mother continued to refuse treatment, and in 2022 succumbed to complications of HIV. At the time, Timo and his siblings were already fully under his grandmother’s care and they largely depended on the support of well-wishers.

Home visits from a community outreach volunteer

Nyakuron PHCC is now one of 14 health facilities supported by the Advancing HIV/AIDS Epidemic Control Activity (AHEC). AHEC is a four-year USAID-funded contract led by IntraHealth International building local capacity to provide comprehensive HIV services and free ART to people living with HIV in South Sudan. By partnering with the health facilities and local organizations, the South Sudanese government, and communities, AHEC helps train health workers to deliver high-quality HIV services and adapts evidence-based HIV prevention, care, and treatment interventions for people living with HIV.

In 2021, early on in the project, AHEC trained 160 COVs, including Lawrence Monday. The project provides a stipend and mobile phone airtime for communication to the COVs. In 2013, AHEC attached Lawrence to Timo to monitor his treatment progress through home visits and offer emotional and psychological support.

“It’s a challenge to keep children on treatment but the regular home visits are paying off,” Lawrence says. “I visit all my clients twice every six months, and I visit children at least once a week, because they easily forget to take their medication, to ensure that they adhere to medication. Within the last month, I’ve registered only 5 out of 160 clients with high viral loads, whom I’m closely following up for adherence counseling.”

“It’s a challenge to keep children on treatment but the regular home visits are paying off,” Lawrence says.

Timo was one of those who needed extra follow-up. In February 2023, when Timo was five, he lost weight and became very weak. When health providers at Nyakuron PHCC assessed him, his viral load was too high and unsuppressed. He seemed traumatized by the absence of his mother, lacked enough food, and sometimes refused the bitter taste of the medicine. The health providers developed a monitoring action plan, and after four months of Enhanced Adherence Counseling, his viral load was suppressed. The health provider transitioned Timo from Lopinavir to Dolutegravir and guided his grandmother on how to prepare and give him the medication. Lawrence helped link Timo to a nutrition center within the health facility where he received food portions monthly until his health improved by June 2023.

However, in October 2023, Timo developed swollen lymph nodes and a cough and was losing weight. During a home visit, Lawrence noticed Timo’s symptoms and immediately rushed him to Nyakuron PHCC, where he was referred to Al-Sabah Childrens’ hospital. Health workers at the hospital diagnosed Timo with opportunistic infections, including tuberculosis (TB). Timo was put on anti-TB treatment for six months, which he successfully completed with the help of Lawrence.

Lawrence Monday walks to visit Timo. The Advancing HIV/AIDS Epidemic Control Activity (AHEC) trained 160 COVs like Lawrence to monitor HIV clients' treatment progress. Photo by Achan Gladys for IntraHealth International.

Timo's grandmother brought him to Nyakuron PHCC. It is now one of the facilities supported by the USAID-funded Advancing HIV/AIDS Epidemic Control Activity (AHEC). Photo by Achan Gladys for IntraHealth International.

Going the extra mile

Lawrence visited Timo’s home every two days while he was on anti-TB treatment. He walked two kilometers each way to Timo’s house to ensure he took his medications consistently. “I had to pay more frequent visits to monitor Timo’s treatment progress, especially because he was on both HIV and TB medications. I used to count the tablets to keep track of his medication consistency,” says Lawrence.

Timo is now TB-free and virally suppressed of HIV, following his last viral load test in October 2023. He now looks jolly, is playful, eats well, and weighs an impressive 23kgs. He is one of the 386 children receiving ART from AHEC-supported facilities in South Sudan, as of September 2023. Overall, AHEC currently supports 12,694 active clients on treatment. IntraHealth also linked Timo to Jhpiego, which enrolled him in their USAID Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) program and plans to consider him for academic support in 2024.

“Timo is very healthy now and helps me around with minor chores, which makes me happy. I don’t want him to contract another disease. I’m doing everything it takes to ensure that he eats well and sticks to his medication,” Timo’s grandmother proudly concludes.

*Not his real name.

By Gladys Achan

Communications Officer

Advancing HIV & AIDS Epidemic Control Activity HIV & AIDS Infectious Diseases Maternal, Newborn, & Child Health Community Health Community Health Workers South Sudan

Is In The Media

Lawrence Monday, a community outreach volunteer (COV), speaks with his young client, Timo, while Timo's grandmother looks on. Photo by Achan Gladys for IntraHealth International.

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New COVID-19 Trackers in South Sudan Will Help Manage the Next Disease Outbreak

ihadmin2 — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 19:36:54 +0000

New COVID-19 Trackers in South Sudan Will Help Manage the Next Disease Outbreak ihadmin2 January 13, 2023

December 14, 2022

Developed and pilot tested by IntraHealth, the new District Health Information System module streamlines surveillance and COVID-19 vaccination tracking in the country.

South Sudan has experienced numerous disease outbreaks before and after its independence in 2011, which have ranged from mild to severe. The South Sudan Ministry of Health continues to face several challenges managing and providing timely responses to emerging health threats.

An underlying reason for this is the country’s shortage of health workers at the national and subnational levels. This is compounded by an untrained health workforce and a lack of data for informed decision-making. Many health workers don’t have up-to-date training and cannot provide high-quality health care while information management processes can’t provide enough data for health workers to effectively manage disease outbreaks.

Over 68% of the health workers that manage data and information at national and subnational levels are volunteers. Over 72% of the counties transmitting pandemic and health management information system (HMIS) data have limited internet connectivity and unstable power. There is also a scarcity of functional hardware (computers and accessories) at the county and facility level to support timely data collection and use.

When COVID-19 began to spread, South Sudan invested in better surveillance and vaccine systems to help manage the country's pandemic response. IntraHealth International partnered with the Ministry of Health to provide financial and technical support to deploy the new District Health Information System 2 (DHIS2) Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) surveillance, vaccination, and Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) trackers. The trackers were designed to collect COVID-19 data in the country, inform surveillance and vaccination reporting, and facilitate travel during the pandemic.

"This will streamline COVID-19 vaccine data collection and reporting."

IntraHealth developed, customized, and deployed the DHIS2 vaccination tracker for pilot testing in 16 health facilities in Juba County, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and with support from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The tracker captures individual-level vaccination data and generates electronic vaccination certificates with quick response (QR) codes. It also allows for real-time monitoring of daily vaccinations in health facilities, which helps measure COVID-19 vaccine uptake in the country.

“With the launch of this new tracker, we’re focused on highlighting the key achievements associated with the system,” says Alfred Okiria, the project director for the Strengthening National Capacity for Integrated HIV/AIDS Health Data Collection, Use, and Dissemination in Support of an Evidence-based Response in South Sudan project. “The electronic vaccination certificate is particularly helpful and has allowed South Sudanese and non-South Sudanese citizens to travel during the pandemic.”

Working with the Health Information Systems Program (HISP) Tanzania, IntraHealth trained 87 data clerks and rolled out the system at the national and subnational levels.

South Sudan now has a national surveillance system and a vaccination tracker system.

“Now that we’ve launched the DHIS2 COVID-19 tracker, we’re looking forward to integrating it into health facilities around the country,” Okiria says. “This will streamline COVID-19 vaccine data collection and reporting and provides an excellent model for other countries who are looking to roll out similar digital health tools during the pandemic.”

Our strategy

To design and deploy the surveillance and vaccine trackers, IntraHealth used a variety of approaches:

Reviewed and updated data collection and reporting tools.
Customized, reviewed, tested, and deployed the DHIS2 system in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and critical partners (World Health Organization, ICAP, and Médecins Sans Frontières).
Trained data clerks from the six pillars of COVID-19 response (call center, rapid response team, laboratory, case management, home-based care, and point of entry for international arrivals).
Provided routine mentorship and coaching for the data management workforce and addressed emerging issues.
Procured 195 tablet computers to facilitate real-time data collection, reporting, and use at the national and subnational levels.
Provided monthly internet plans to data clerks to facilitate data uploads on the DHIS2 system.
Seconded 16 data clerks to selected facilities for data collection and reporting.
Printed and distributed data collection tools for paper-based data capture at facility and community levels.
Conducted routine supportive supervision visits and onsite technical support and mentorship to identify facilities that needed support.

Where we are now

South Sudan now has a national surveillance system and a vaccination tracker system, which replaced the old fragmented and parallel data reporting systems for emerging outbreaks. The systems can provide real-time data for decision-making and timely responses to emerging threats. The country has built health workers’ skills in using the incidence management system to respond to emergencies. It has adopted digitalization of data management and promoted a culture of data use. And the mentorship and coaching support have created a culture of continuous learning around data management to drive evidence-based decision-making on national pandemics within the country.

By Acaga Taban Ismail

Former strategic information manager, IntraHealth International

Infectious Diseases COVID-19 Digital Health Global health security

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International Conference on Public Health in Africa

ihadmin2 — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 19:22:52 +0000

International Conference on Public Health in Africa ihadmin2 January 13, 2023 December 13, 2022 - December 15, 2022

The International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA) 2022 will provide a unique platform for African researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders to come together and share perspectives and research findings in public health while ushering in a new era of strengthened scientific collaboration and innovation across the continent. Building on CPHIA 2021, this year’s conference will also serve as a catalyst to build more resilient health systems that allow African countries to better prepare for and manage emerging health threats while also addressing long-standing infectious diseases.

African Union

Africa CDC

Rwanda Ministry of Health

Rwanda Biomedical Centre

https://cphia2022.com/

Our Participation

Presentations

The effect of e-Learning on retention of maternal and neonatal health knowledge among community health workers in Rwanda

Date(s):	December 14, 2022 03:00pm CAT (08:00am EST)
Location:	Kigali Convention Center AD 10+11+12
Presenter(s):	Yves Sangwa

Poster Presentation

Factors influencing completeness of the recommend package for first antenatal care visits in Rwanda

Date(s):	December 13, 2022 09:00am - December 15, 2022 05:00pm CAT (02:00am - 10:00am EST)
More Information:	Posters on display throughout the conference.
Location:	Kigali Convention Center Foyer 1A
Presenter(s):	Egide Freddy Muragijimana

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of youth toward adolescent sexual reproductive health in Rwanda

Date(s):	December 13, 2022 09:00am - December 15, 2022 05:00pm CAT (02:00am - 10:00am EST)
More Information:	Posters on display throughout the conference.
Location:	Kigali Convention Center Foyer 1A
Presenter(s):	Redempta Sagiza

Fighting COVID with health workforce data: Findings from the early COVID-19 response in Mali and Kenya

Date(s):	December 13, 2022 09:00am - December 15, 2022 05:00pm CAT (02:00am - 10:00am EST)
More Information:	Posters on display throughout the conference.
Location:	Kigali Convention Center Foyer 1A
Presenter(s):	Olivia Velez

Side Events

Plenary 6: Africa Women In Digital Health

Date(s):	December 12, 2022 05:00pm CAT (10:00am EST)
More Information:	This session will focus on removing barriers for African women to fully participate in the digital space including digital health.
Location:	Room MH4
Presenter(s):	Olivia Velez

Participants

Egide Freddy Muragijimana

District Health Data Analyst

Redempta Sagiza

Yves Sangwa

Community Health Advisor

Cheick Toure

Mali Country Director and Chief Technical Officer (Interim)

Olivia Velez

Chief Digital Health Officer

Rwanda Ingobyi Infectious Diseases Policy & Advocacy

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Kigali Convention Center

Kigali, Rwanda

In Eastern Uganda, One District’s COVID-19 Vaccination Preparedness and Response Strategies Exceeded Expectations

ihadmin2 — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 20:53:46 +0000

In Eastern Uganda, One District’s COVID-19 Vaccination Preparedness and Response Strategies Exceeded Expectations ihadmin2 January 12, 2023

October 24, 2022

The Bududa District used several approaches to improve vaccine uptake in the region—and saw great success.

Uganda is working hard to prevent COVID-19 by encouraging its citizens to get vaccinated. Today, the country’s cumulative positive cases are over 170,000, including 3,600+ deaths and over 100,000 recoveries. While Uganda has sustained a low COVID-19 transmission rate at 2%, not all of its eligible population is fully vaccinated, and the Ministry of Health is trying to change that.

One district in Uganda, the Bududa District, took advantage of Uganda’s vaccination efforts to make sure its key populations received jabs, achieving a 100% vaccine coverage rate for the first dose and a 98% full dose rate by June 2022.

Bududa District is situated in the Bukedi region of Uganda and has a population of 270,000. It’s considered a hard-to-reach area due to its poor terrain and multiple landslides that affect both lives and livelihoods. Because of this, the district struggles to provide easy access to health services. As a result, the district has a 26% teenage pregnancy rate, low uptake of modern contraceptives (14%), poor client attendance for antenatal care visits, and low male involvement in family planning decisions. Additionally, many expectant mothers prefer to deliver at home instead of in a health facility. The COVID-19 pandemic has further burdened the already struggling health system.

Like the rest of the country, the Bududa District embraced vaccination efforts and its health team was proactive on the district task force. And Bududa collaborated with IntraHealth’s Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services in Eastern Uganda (RHITES-E) project, which helped them conduct continuous reviews, correct course when needed, and design and implement several helpful strategies.

Demand creation

First, the district needed to inform the local population about the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine. They did this through mass vaccination drives and radio talk shows spearheaded by health experts, and by deploying volunteer health teams to communities to talk about the importance of vaccination, which helped address myths and misconceptions about the vaccine.

Influential district leaders, including chief administrative officers, members of Parliament, the resident district commissioner, and religious leaders all received their vaccines publicly, which played a key role in allaying people’s fears.

Partnerships with health workers

Second, RHITES-E trained 180 health workers on COVID-19 risk communication and vaccine storage and management. The district created and worked with subcounty taskforces to help manage COVID-19 response. Continuous engagement with the subcounty, village, and lower-level stakeholders, such as community elders and leaders, improved service delivery in hard-to-reach areas, especially since the district chose to administer the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, which only required a single jab.

We had to quickly find solutions to avoid further COVID-19 spread.

“At first, it was really a problem,” says Dr. Ntegeka Sylvia Enid from the Bududa District Health Office. “Being a hard-to-reach district with many porous borders made the pandemic uncontainable. We had to quickly find solutions to avoid further COVID-19 spread.”

The district also established 96 vaccination teams with clear roles and responsibilities. Comprised of a nurse, health information assistant, community health workers, and health assistants, the teams ensured that vaccines were provided at all vaccination health centers and that data was adequately captured.

These teams identified any available opportunities to administer vaccines, including at busy trading centers, markets, schools, and religious and political gatherings. In the initial phase, the district prioritized the most at-risk community members, such as health workers, teachers, persons with underlying health conditions, and those above 50 years.

Goal-setting

Third, the district established targets for vaccination. With guidance from the Ministry of Health, the Bududa District set a goal of 136,924 vaccinations. To achieve this, vaccination service points were expanded up to health center IIIs in addition to hospitals and health center IVs. Vaccination teams conducted outreach services and reduced their team sizes from six to four members to increase coverage at the subcounty level. Health workers were asked to establish their clients’ COVID-19 vaccination status through routine care and to talk to those who hadn’t been vaccinated about getting their jab.

Regular review

Lastly, deliberate coordination mechanisms were built to allow for regular reviews and informed decision-making. At the lower level, health facility in-charges began providing daily updates on vaccinations through a WhatsApp group. This platform helped health facilities share information and address challenges together in real-time. For example, vaccines were redistributed from districts with low demand to the facilities in need.

At the national level, RHITES-E continues to engage in COVAX and partner catch-up meetings to share experiences and discuss challenges and plans to improve vaccination uptake in the region. RHITES-E is currently helping data assistants and biostatisticians in Bududa with monthly internet data bundles and entry fees to ensure prompt reporting and avoid vaccination data backlogs.

These vaccination strategies in the Bududa District vaccination have drastically changed the vaccination rate in the region, not only for key populations but for everyone. In November 2021, the rate for the first dose was at 9% and the rate for the full dose was 2%. By September the Summer 2022, that rate had improved to 78% and 63% respectively.

RHITES-E is funded by the US Agency for International Development.

By Irene Mirembe

Knowledge management manager, IntraHealth International

Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services in Eastern Uganda (RHITES-East) Infectious Diseases COVID-19 Community Health Health Workers Uganda

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World Health Summit

ihadmin2 — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 18:52:49 +0000

World Health Summit ihadmin2 January 12, 2023

October 16, 2022 - October 18, 2022

World Health Summit and WHO join forces to bring you the world's leading international, inter-sectoral and inclusive global health conference that will set the agenda for a healthier future. Central topics in 2022 include:

Investment for Health and Well-Being
Climate Change and Planetary Health
Architecture for Pandemic Preparedness
Digital Transformation for Health
Food Systems and Health
Health Systems Resilience and Equity
Global Health for Peace

World Health Organization

https://www.worldhealthsummit.org/

Our Participation

Side Events

Digital Public Goods for Health: Meeting demand for digital health with an ecosystem of choice

Date(s):	October 18, 2022 09:00am - 10:30am CEST (03:00am - 04:30am EDT)
More Information:	An evolution in the availability of reputable, flexible, robust, interoperable technologies has created an ecosystem of choice, so that countries can select tools or suites of tools that best meet their digital transformation needs at all levels of the health system. In this discussion, speakers will explore how demand is shaping the supply of digital public good and global good technologies on the market today, highlighting how global partnerships are supporting countries' needs to scale proven technologies.
Presenter(s):	Olivia Vélez

Participants

Olivia Vélez

Chief Digital health officer

Cheick Oumar Touré

Chief technical officer (interim)

Janet Muriuki

Senior director of health workforce development (interim)

Infectious Diseases Nutrition Digital Health Health Workforce & Systems

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Hotel Berlin Central District

Stauffenbergstraße 26
Berlin, 10785
Germany

COVID-19 Vaccine Drives Increase Coverage in Uganda’s Eastern Region

kseaton — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 19:18:57 +0000

COVID-19 Vaccine Drives Increase Coverage in Uganda’s Eastern Region kseaton August 16, 2022 August 16, 2022

IntraHealth International’s Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services in Eastern Uganda (RHITES-E) project is partnering with the government of Uganda to offer COVID-19 vaccination drives that will provide more people with protection from the virus before a stockpile of the country’s vaccines expire at the end of August.

Uganda will have to destroy about 1.2 million vaccine doses by the end of August if they remain unused. Vaccine waste is a crucial issue for many countries, reaching as high as 30% in some areas. In Uganda, health facilities often receive vaccines from the Uganda National Medical Stores, but due to insufficient demand, they are left unused and expire. So the Government of Uganda and USAID are working together to provide vaccines to more people through accelerated COVID-19 vaccination campaigns.

In eastern Uganda, RHITES-E works with district COVID-19 task forces to plan these vaccination drives and create more demand for COVID-19 vaccines. So far, RHITES-E’s partner districts have received 469,426 doses (13% of total doses received countrywide) across three rounds of mass vaccinations. They have already administered 326,951 of these doses—a 69.6% overall uptake rate.

“There was a time when vaccines were nearly expiring and it created a crisis."

One RHITES-E partner district, the Mbale District, initially struggled with low vaccine uptake. “There was a time when vaccines were nearly expiring and it created a crisis,” says Agnes Masagwayi, the Mbale District senior health educator. “We needed to go out in the communities to vaccinate people.”

When the district’s rate of vaccine administration slowed, local leaders worked with RHITES-E to rally communities to embrace vaccination by:

expanding vaccination service points to all health center IIIs (in addition to hospitals and health center IVs)
participating in regional and district technical planning meetings, regional-level COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) meetings, and partner catch-up meetings to share experiences and challenges
conducting outreach in addition to the static vaccination sites
engaging religious leaders and community influencers to help address fears and misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccines
supporting mobile vaccination campaigns
sharing information about vaccines through radio talk shows, health education materials at health facilities, and door-to-door visits
hiring nursing students in their final year of nursing school to help health workers administer vaccines
reviewing data continuously to inform vaccination approaches
training 156 health workers on COVID-19 vaccine administration and safety.*

Chesura Aisha, a local woman, got her vaccine in June at one of the outreach posts in her community. “I was happy to receive my jab,” she says. “I feel safe from COVID-19 with this vaccination.”

"We’ve utilized all of the vaccines that have been rejected by the neighboring districts."

These interventions also helped to mitigate vaccine wastage and expiration. The Mbale District collaborated with RHITES-E, district cold chain technicians, district health teams, and the Mbale Regional Emergency Operations Center to plan, forecast, roll out, and monitor an appropriate supply of COVID-19 vaccines. In some cases, RHITES-E redistributed vaccines from communities where demand was low to those where demand was high. They gauged demand in each district through forecasting, regular review, and early warning to determine where and when doses should be sent. In April 2022 alone, they redistributed 17,360 Moderna doses and 21,000 AstraZeneca doses and administered them to clients before they expired.

“We’ve utilized all of the vaccines that have been rejected by the neighboring districts either because they received them abruptly or they were about to expire,” says Jonathan Wangisi, the district health officer for the Mbale District. “The vaccination response team is committed and has planned out its vaccination efforts, which has helped us seize every opportunity to ensure people receive their vaccines.”

The district hasn't had a vaccine expire yet.

The district’s combined redistribution and campaign efforts have increased their COVID-19 vaccination uptake rate since vaccinations began in November 2021. And they haven’t had a vaccine expire yet.

“It’s crucial that all districts and health facilities administering vaccines regularly plan, monitor, and account for vaccine use continuously,” Masagwayi says. “The demand for vaccines should be commensurate with the supply. This reduces waste and ensures everyone is vaccinated.”

In the eastern region, COVID-19 vaccination uptake is at 69% for the first dose and 55% for full vaccination among the target population. RHITES-E districts now rank among the highest in Uganda for full vaccination rates (Bukedi ranks fifth and Bugisu ranks seventh among the top ten).

Now, the Mbale District is intensifying their vaccine drives for booster shots. Already 20,589 people have been boosted in the RHITES-E regions of Bukedi and Busoga.

RHITES-E is funded by the US Agency for International Development and led by IntraHealth International. Irene Mirembe and Aaron Musimenta contributed reporting for this story.

*The training ensured that all health workers involved in administering COVID-19 vaccines had adequate knowledge and skills on how to administer them as approved by the World Health Organization.

Uganda Infectious Diseases COVID-19 Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services in Eastern Uganda (RHITES-East)

Rwanda Focuses on Health Workers to Strengthen COVID-Related Services in 20 Districts

kseaton — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 16:08:43 +0000

Rwanda Focuses on Health Workers to Strengthen COVID-Related Services in 20 Districts kseaton July 08, 2022 July 08, 2022

Health workers in 20 districts throughout Rwanda are making higher-quality health services related to COVID-19 available to more people in their communities, thanks to training through IntraHealth’s USAID-funded Ingobyi project. Together with the Rwanda Ministry of Health, we are improving the quality and accessibility of services related to family planning, maternal and newborn health, as well as malaria prevention and treatment.

“When COVID-19 began to spread in 2020, we had to pivot our preexisting plans and implementation strategies to make sure health workers had the right supplies and training they needed to keep communities safe,” says Samson Radeny, IntraHealth’s country director in Rwanda. “We used a variety of approaches to focus on both health worker response and community sensitization.”

And while the Rwandan government had solid outbreak-response structures in place to protect against the spread of Ebola from neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, they needed to quickly bolster and tailor these systems for the COVID-19 pandemic. So the Ingobyi team advised and provided technical assistance to the government to train the country’s health workers, build needed infrastructure, and communicate effectively about COVID-19. Together, we:

Trained 280 health workers on COVID-19 case management and care in 26 hospitals.
Partnered with 10 radio stations to disseminate messages about COVID-19, malaria, and maternal, newborn, and child health.
Trained 514 health workers at 25 supported district hospitals to accurately screen clients for noncommunicable diseases and link positive COVID-19 individuals to the national vaccination program.
Provided the Rwanda Ministry of Health with advisors during nationwide mass COVID-19 vaccination campaigns to help plan, coordinate, and supervise the national vaccination activities.
Renovated eight COVID-19 isolation facilities and equipped them with the needed items to support management of critically ill patients.
Repurposed the Ebola call center to serve as an emergency hotline for COVID-19 information and staffed the call center to provide information for the 84,000 calls per week during the first nationwide lockdown.
Procured 500+ pieces of equipment needed by health facilities including digital blood pressure machines, ICU beds, oxygen cylinders, and infusion pumps.
Trained 859 hospital staff on infection prevention and control. Of these, five clinical staff from each hospital were validated as mentors and in turn cascaded the same trainings to 325 health center managers, who in turn trained 3,378 health center staff.

Read: Supporting Rwanda’s COVID-19 Response and Mitigating Its Impact on Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health and Malaria Service Delivery

IntraHealth Reached 317,443 Health Workers in 2021, Extending Health Care to Millions

kseaton — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 15:11:35 +0000

IntraHealth Reached 317,443 Health Workers in 2021, Extending Health Care to Millions kseaton June 29, 2022 June 29, 2022 Chapel Hill, NC

During 2021, the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, IntraHealth International reached 317,443 health workers in 42 countries, helping to make high-quality health care available to more people around the world. Our programs led to:

$33,399,555 in financial aid provided for student health workers through IntraHealth programs
2,524,424 COVID-19 vaccines distributed through IntraHealth programs
223,677 men provided with voluntary medical male circumcision to prevent HIV infection
2,264,216 messages sent to and from health workers via mHero, WhatsApp, or other digital health tools
898,190 individuals tested for HIV and received results
8,231,279 family planning users through IntraHealth programs
1,389,009 new users of contraception
504,185 children under 5 treated for malaria

Even before the pandemic, the World Health Organization estimated a shortfall of 18 million health workers by 2030. Now, 15 million more health workers are needed in low and lower-middle income countries alone to respond to the needs of the health system and achieve universal health coverage.

IntraHealth International reached 317,443 health workers in 42 countries.

“The difficulties many countries have faced in responding to COVID-19 and rapidly delivering vaccines, tests, treatment, and supportive care have shone a spotlight on vulnerabilities in health systems and workforces around the world,” says Polly Dunford, IntraHealth’s president and CEO. “But we know that by investing in and supporting health workers—including and especially community health workers, nurses, and midwives—we can make great strides in COVID-19 response and in achieving universal health coverage.”

In 2021, IntraHealth focused on expanding digital health tools, responding to global health security threats, and training and supporting local health organizations. We expanded our iHRIS software to 25 countries, who now use it to manage their health worker personnel records, trained 9,000+ health workers on COVID-19 response, and worked with 74 local organizations to help them prepare to receive funding from USAID and PEPFAR.

See more 2021 results in our full annual report.

IntraHealth believes everyone everywhere should have the health care they need to thrive. Our mission is to improve the performance of health workers and strengthen the systems in which they work.

Banner photo: Jeanne Uwimana is a gender-based violence officer at the Isange One Stop Center at the Nyanza District Hospital. Photo by Innocent Ishimwe for IntraHealth International.

Health Areas Family Planning & Reproductive Health HIV & AIDS Infectious Diseases Maternal, Newborn, & Child Health Mental Health Noncommunicable Diseases Nutrition Community Health Digital Health Education & Performance Health workforce development Gender Equality Global health security Health Workforce & Systems Health WorkersNamuwaya Nsabu weighs her 9 month old baby before receiving immunization services at Nakaloke Health Center III in Mbale, Uganda. Photo by Esther Ruth Mbabazi for IntraHealth International.

Strategies to Improve Infection Prevention and Control in Health Facilities

kseaton — Thu, 12 May 2022 20:25:24 +0000

Strategies to Improve Infection Prevention and Control in Health Facilities 2022 kseaton May 12, 2022

Read about IntraHealth International's high impact interventions to build and sustain capacity for infection prevention and control in supported health facilities in Rwanda. The Ingobyi project’s bundled interventions have been rolled out in all 26 supported hospitals and 325 health centers across 20 districts in Rwanda.

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Supporting Rwanda’s COVID-19 Response and Mitigating Its Impact on Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health and Malaria Service Delivery

Piloting an eLearning Course for Community Health Worker Training

Enhancing Provider Competencies through the Low-Dose, High-Frequency Training Approach

Strengthening Health Provider Competencies through Clinical Mentorship

Preventing and Managing Obstetric Fistula in Rwanda

Engaging Communities and Promoting Health-Seeking Behavior through Strategic Social and Behavior Change

Building Capacity of Health Workers through Supportive Supervision

Engaging Communities to Improve Health Care Quality through the Citizen Voice and Action Approach

Countries Rwanda

Projects Ingobyi

Topics Infectious Diseases COVID-19 Health workforce development Global health security Health Workforce & Systems Health Workers

By Olive Ntakirutimana, Assumpta Kayinamura Mwali

Supporting Rwanda’s COVID-19 Response and Mitigating Its Impact on Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health and Malaria Service Delivery

kseaton — Thu, 12 May 2022 19:52:21 +0000

Supporting Rwanda’s COVID-19 Response and Mitigating Its Impact on Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health and Malaria Service Delivery 2022 kseaton May 12, 2022

Read how IntraHealth International partnered with the Ministry of Health in Rwanda and the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) to strengthen infection prevention and control (IPC), including a national call center, isolation units, risk communication, and training for health workers on surveillance, screening, and case management toward the national COVID-19 response. The Ingobyi project helped build the capacity of health workers to manage COVID-19 cases, strengthen contact tracing, and procure supplies and medical equipment for 11 hospitals, including for isolation and treatment centers, among other measures.

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Topics Infectious Diseases COVID-19 Global health security Health Workers

By Olive Ntakirutimana, Assumpta Kayinamura Mwali

Infectious Diseases

Community Health Workers Making a Difference for Pediatric HIV Clients in South Sudan

Diagnosis and struggle

Home visits from a community outreach volunteer

Going the extra mile

New COVID-19 Trackers in South Sudan Will Help Manage the Next Disease Outbreak

Our strategy

Where we are now

Photos

International Conference on Public Health in Africa

Our Participation

Presentations

The effect of e-Learning on retention of maternal and neonatal health knowledge among community health workers in Rwanda

Poster Presentation

Factors influencing completeness of the recommend package for first antenatal care visits in Rwanda

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of youth toward adolescent sexual reproductive health in Rwanda

Fighting COVID with health workforce data: Findings from the early COVID-19 response in Mali and Kenya

Side Events

Plenary 6: Africa Women In Digital Health

Participants

Egide Freddy Muragijimana

Redempta Sagiza

Yves Sangwa

Cheick Toure

Olivia Velez

In Eastern Uganda, One District’s COVID-19 Vaccination Preparedness and Response Strategies Exceeded Expectations

Demand creation

Partnerships with health workers

Goal-setting

Regular review

Photos

World Health Summit

Our Participation

Side Events

Digital Public Goods for Health: Meeting demand for digital health with an ecosystem of choice

Participants

Olivia Vélez

Cheick Oumar Touré

Janet Muriuki

COVID-19 Vaccine Drives Increase Coverage in Uganda’s Eastern Region

Rwanda Focuses on Health Workers to Strengthen COVID-Related Services in 20 Districts

Read more about the Ingobyi team’s most effective approaches and key results in Rwanda:

IntraHealth Reached 317,443 Health Workers in 2021, Extending Health Care to Millions

Strategies to Improve Infection Prevention and Control in Health Facilities

Supporting Rwanda’s COVID-19 Response and Mitigating Its Impact on Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health and Malaria Service Delivery

Piloting an eLearning Course for Community Health Worker Training

Enhancing Provider Competencies through the Low-Dose, High-Frequency Training Approach

Strengthening Health Provider Competencies through Clinical Mentorship

Preventing and Managing Obstetric Fistula in Rwanda

Engaging Communities and Promoting Health-Seeking Behavior through Strategic Social and Behavior Change

Building Capacity of Health Workers through Supportive Supervision

Engaging Communities to Improve Health Care Quality through the Citizen Voice and Action Approach

Supporting Rwanda’s COVID-19 Response and Mitigating Its Impact on Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health and Malaria Service Delivery

Piloting an eLearning Course for Community Health Worker Training

Strategies to Improve Infection Prevention and Control in Health Facilities

Enhancing Provider Competencies through the Low-Dose, High-Frequency Training Approach

Strengthening Health Provider Competencies through Clinical Mentorship

Preventing and Managing Obstetric Fistula in Rwanda

Engaging Communities and Promoting Health-Seeking Behavior through Strategic Social and Behavior Change

Building Capacity of Health Workers through Supportive Supervision

Engaging Communities to Improve Health Care Quality through the Citizen Voice and Action Approach