Dear IHD Colleagues,
Below is our monthly IHD update outlining recent happenings in the Division. We look forward to receiving any feedback you may wish to share with us.
AIRS: Protecting 23 Million and Counting
As a part of World Malaria Day, AIRS showcased at USAID in Washington, DC, Abt’s innovations in operations, entomological monitoring and evaluation, and environmental compliance to make indoor residual spraying (IRS) a more cost-effective, environmentally compliant, and sustainable malaria intervention. The leader of the President’s Malaria Initiative, U.S. Global Malaria Coordinator Tim Ziemer, praised AIR’s work and its role in helping to reduce malaria in Africa in a safe and effective way. He said AIRS is “saving lives” as it has protected more than 23 million people from malaria since 2011.
Fighting Malaria at the Local Level
In 2012, Babakar Guy became the chief medical doctor for Koumpentoum District, located in the Sahel Desert in Senegal. In the small communities where Babakar works, malaria is still the number one reason for health clinic visits. To control the spread of malaria, Babakar knows that prevention and treatment is essential. AIRS released its most recent video from Senegal highlighting Babakar and AIRS success at building capacity at the local level to fight malaria.
HFG’s NHA Brown Bag at USAID Sparks Lively Discussion
“National Health Accounts provide extremely powerful information that should be used increasingly for policymaking … The power of the [NHA] evidence is that it triggers discussions about how to allocate resources,” said A.K. Nandakumar, Chief Health Economist, USAID, at HFG’s first brown bag lunch, held April 23 at USAID in Washington. At the session, Scott Stewart, AOR for HFG, and Tesfaye Dereje, HFG health economist, presented highlights of the new, improved NHA. For more than 20 years, USAID has led the use of NHA to track the sources and uses of all health spending – donor, government, and private sector – in more than 70 low- and middle-income countries.
Ethiopia Disseminates Fifth Round of NHA, Moves toward Institutionalization
Speaking before 120 people at the dissemination of Ethiopia’s fifth round of National Health Accounts, held in April in Addis Ababa, State Minister for Health Dr. Amir Aman pledged to use the new findings in the government’s policymaking process. Dr. Aman said that the NHA exercise, supported by HFG, is part of a larger effort to ensure “healthy and productive Ethiopians.” In this latest round of NHA, Ethiopia’s government tracked spending on general health and in five subaccounts ‒ HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, child health, tuberculosis, and malaria. Contact: hailu_zelelew@abtassoc.com.
ZISSP Speaks Out at Two Recent Events in Zambia
Representing the Zambia Integrated Systems Strengthening Program (ZISSP), Victoria Musonda and Nancy Zyongwe recently presented at two events in Zambia. Victoria provided an “Overview of Quality Improvement Systems Strengthening in Zambia: ZISSP Support for the Ministry of Health” at the Quality Improvement and International Partnerships Conference. At the National Paediatric and Adolescent ART Review Conference, she spoke on “Using Quality Improvement as a Strategy for Improving Pediatric ART Uptake” and Nancy presented on “ZISSP Support for Pediatric ART Mentorship.” Contact: victoria_musonda@abtassoc.com.
Refocusing Work in a Fragile State, Abt’s South Sudan Health Systems Strengthening Project (HSSP)
Unrest in South Sudan has exacerbated public health challenges in a country where, even before the latest outbreak of violence, one in 10 children under five years of age did not survive. Given the current volatile situation, USAID asked that HSSP re-focus efforts from the central and state levels to the county and community levels and to strengthen linkages with in-country service delivery partners to reach the most vulnerable populations. HSSP revised its workplan, budget, and performance monitoring plan and will establish a larger presence in the city of Yambio with new teams in six hubs working at the county level to more easily access the project’s target population. USAID granted special approval for Wasunna Owino, the project COP, as well as for three other third-country national staff to return to South Sudan from Kenya, where they had been evacuated in January of this year. The HSSP team is excited to be back in country to implement the revised workplan. Contact: rebecca_pastika@abtassoc.com.
Updates from SHOPS Project Jordan: Strengthening Family Planning Efforts
· To increase the demand for family planning services, SHOPS Jordan helped create an alliance of six family planning NGOs. It is the first civil society alliance for family planning in Jordan.
· On April 30, 2014, the Jordanian Association for Family Planning and Protection (JAFPP) opened a newly renovated clinic in Jabal al Hussein with support from the SHOPS project. Secretary General of the Ministry of Social Development Omar Hamza and USAID Acting Deputy Mission Director Rhonda Shire attended the event, which was commemorated with a community fair. Since USAID launched the SHOPS Jordan work in 2010, it has funded the purchase of 17 properties and the renovation of 17 facilities for JAFPP.
ATLAS is Open and Ready for Your FY15 Goals!
Setting performance goals is a critical part of connecting to Abt’s strategy and performance management. This connection helps link what each of us does with what the organization is trying to achieve. Goals specify what is expected and help us allocate our time and focus our efforts. Discussions should be taking place between you and your supervisors to establish performance goals for FY15. The target date for having FY15 goals established and entered into ATLAS Goals is on or before June 30. Direct any questions to HRServiceCenter@abtassoc.com.
Wondering What and When IHD Staff Meetings Are?
IHD holds monthly meetings in three formats as below. We are working on obtaining conference room space for meetings from July forward and will communicate those dates as soon as possible. We encourage you to attend the monthly meetings.
· IHD Quarterly Update – for US-based staff; provides update on IHD’s report-out to Abt’s Management Advisory Group. Next IHD Quarterly Update meeting is May 21.
· IHD Global Staff Meeting – for all IHD staff; provides brief IHD update and highlights one particular project. Next IHD Global Staff Meeting is June 18.
· IHD Townhall – for US-based staff; provides brief updates from division and offers a more extended forum for staff to ask questions. Next IHD Townhall date will be announced.
Upcoming Conferences: Abstract Due Dates and Acceptance Notification Dates
If you plan to submit an abstract or have an abstract accepted, please notify Liz Nugent.
Micronutrient Forum 2014 (June 2-6, 2014 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) – 4 abstracts accepted
45th Union World Conference on Lung Health (September 30-October 3, 2014, Barcelona, Spain) – Abstract notices late June
Third Global Symposium on Health Systems Research (September 30-October 3, 2014, Cape Town, South Africa) – 13 abstracts accepted
American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) (November 2-6, 2014, New Orleans, LA) – Late-breaker abstracts August 6, abstract notices late August
APHA (November 15-19, 2014, New Orleans, LA) – Abstract notices June 3
Global mHealth Forum (December 10-11, 2014, Maryland) – Abstracts due June 27
14th World Congress on Public Health (February 11-15, 2015, Kolkata, India) – Abstracts due June 15
Welcomes – A Sampling
Welcome: Elizabeth Magnusson, Leandre Koumba (transfer from HFG to IHD)
May and Upcoming Events
May 20 – Society for International Development-Washington 2014 Annual Conference (Diana Silimperi speaking on “Ensuring Healthy Lives” panel)
May 20-21 – Regional Private Health Sector and mHealth Dissemination Workshop, Accra, Ghana (bettina_brunner@abtassoc.com)
June 17 – mHealth in the SHOPS Project: Case Studies and Lessons Learned, Washington, DC
SAVE THE DATE!
May 21 – IHD Quarterly Update
June 9-12 – Abt 2014 Chief of Party (COP) Conference
June 18 – Global IHD Staff Meeting
June 27 – Abt-wide Annual Meeting