Subject: IHD August 2014 IHD E-letter
From: Diana Silimperi <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 19:47:22 +0000

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.

It’s Official – J-CAP Project Kicks Off in Jordan

The USAID-funded Jordan Communication, Advocacy and Policy (J-CAP) Cooperative Agreement, a five-year, $30 million activity designed to shift cultural norms and increase demand for family planning and reproductive health services, kicked off in August. Winning J-CAP provides IHD an enormous strategic opportunity in Jordan.  Working together with our Health Systems Strengthening II and SHOPS projects, we will maximize synergy and strengthen integration between service delivery (in the public and private sectors) and demand generation through innovative behavior change communication strategies.  Dr. Ayman Mohsen serves as chief of party and Houda Khayame has transitioned from the SHOPS Jordan project to serve as deputy chief of party. In addition to a team of mostly Jordanian staff, J-CAP is supported in Bethesda by Portfolio Manager Carlos Cuellar, Technical Coordinator Caytie Decker, Senior Finance and Contract Manager Becky Sheridan, Finance and Contract Manager Dan Katuala, and Technical Lead Gael O’Sullivan.  We wish our J-CAP team much success – Bel-Tawfeeq! Contact: [email-masked], [email-masked].

Armed in Malaria Prevention

Have you seen AIRS’ new speed drawing video about their work in entomological monitoring? An integral part of AIRS is robust entomological monitoring, enabling entomologists to identify which mosquitoes carry malaria, the feeding and resting habits of the vector, the quality of spraying, as well as insecticide resistance. Contact: [email-masked].

How to Build a Mobile Soak Pit

AIRS recently released its own “how to” video on How to Build a Mobile Soak Pit. This new training video provides environmental compliance officers a step-by-step guide to building a mobile soak pit. Developed by AIRS, the innovative mobile soak pit increases efficiency and improves environmental safety of indoor residual spraying in remote areas. Contact: peter chandonait @abtassoc.com.

Simple Water Purifier Saves Lives – SHOPS Pilot Test in Malawi

A simple plastic container for dispersing purified water has prevented thousands of children from dying of diarrheal disease caused by consumption of dirty water. USAID has been working with the nonprofit Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) to pilot use of the dispenser in Kenya and Uganda. Funding for the innovation comes from USAID’s Development Innovations Ventures (DIV), the federal government version of a venture-capital fund. DIV is an open competition supporting breakthrough solutions to ending poverty – interventions that can change millions of lives at a fraction of the usual cost. With USAID Mission funding, the SHOPS Project has partnered with IPA to carry out a similar pilot in southern Malawi.  Within this partnership, IPA has installed dispensers in 50 villages, and trained local staff to install and repair them, and to monitor the activity, while SHOPS has trained water point committees in all villages.  Early monitoring reports indicate that uptake of the water treatment has far exceeded uptake rates in either Kenya or Uganda with Malawi well on its way to being a successful program.  Contact: [email-masked].

Health Care Financing Training for USAID Staff

A Health Finance and Governance (HFG) Project team traveled to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in June to help facilitate USAID’s East and Central Africa Workshop on Sustainable Domestic Financing of Universal Health Care (UHC). The workshop was designed to provide USAID staff with tools needed to effectively dialogue with local country officials to increase domestic financing for health priorities, including ending preventable childhood and maternal deaths and UHC. One participant said, “I don't work in this field and feel as though I have learned more in this week than any training in my professional career…!” Thirty USAID staff dealing with health systems and disease-specific programs participated, including the USAID/Tanzania Mission Director. The workshop was organized and delivered by a team from the USAID Office of Health Systems, the USAID/Africa Bureau Office of Sustainable Development, HFG, and the Joint Learning Network. Contact: [email-masked].

HFG Governance Workshop Brings Together Experts in Global Health and Democracy

HFG, in collaboration with USAID, recently held the “Generating Evidence of Governance Contributions to Health Outcomes Workshop” for USAID counterparts and implementing partners.  Attended by some 60 participants, HFG AOR team member, Jodi Charles stated that she saw this successful workshop as a means “to launch future closer collaboration with a group of people who work in health and also outside of the health sector” to further advance evidence generation for the field of governance.  Amongst discussants at the event were Office of Health Systems Director Karen Cavanaugh and Johns Hopkins University Professor Dr. Sara Bennett.  The upcoming Global Symposium on Health Systems Research, which will take place in Cape Town September 30-October 3, will allow for continued conversation on this topic.  A recording of several sessions of the workshop along with a report from the event will soon be posted on the HFG website.  Contact: [email-masked].

Abt Helps Gates Foundation Assess PHC Services in Nigeria

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) has tapped Abt to provide recommendations to help BMGF shape its primary health care (PHC) strategy for Nigeria.  In response, Abt is preparing background material for the Foundation, including a detailed “landscape” of development partners working in Nigeria; a state-by-state analysis of political will for PHC and availability of services on the PHC level; and development of a tool  to help BMGF assess the current PHC system.  Launched in July 2014, the project is expected to run for five months. Contact: [email-masked].

Abt Partners with AIDS-Free Generation (AIDSFree) Project Team

Abt, as part of a consortia headed by JSI Research & Training Institute, including Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, EnCompass, IMA World Health, The International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Jhpiego, and Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) and headed by JSI Research & Training Institute, will implement USAID’s Strengthening High Impact Interventions for an AIDS-Free Generation (AIDSFree) project.  This five-year $250M project aims to improve the effectiveness of high-impact, evidence-based HIV interventions (e.g., prevention of mother-to-child transmission, voluntary medical male circumcision) and accelerate the speed these interventions are brought to scale. Contact: [email-masked].

What Are High-Impact Practices in Family Planning (HIPs)? Ask HSSII

HIPs are promising or evidence-based practices that, when scaled up and institutionalized, will maximize investments in a comprehensive family planning strategy. Identified by international experts in family planning and reproductive health, HIPs help family planning programs focus resources and efforts on practices that have the broadest reach and greatest impact. Abt’s Health Systems Strengthening II project in Jordan has just published an HIP success story on the HIP webpage. Read Dr. Nisreen Bitar’s piece about how family planning counseling benefits mothers in Zarqa, Jordan. Contact: [email-masked].

Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Mortality (EPCMD) Strategy – Abt Responds

Have you looked at "Acting on the Call" released June 25th which outlines USAID's new strategy for Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Mortality in 24 target countries?  The report provides action plans and target goals for each of the 24 countries. We will soon be reaching out to our colleagues in the target countries to confirm that this new important strategy information has been shared with staff to make sure we are doing everything possible to reach the new goals.  Contact: [email-masked].

lAbt Joins Discussion Held in Conjunction with US-Africa Leaders’ Summit

During the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit held in Washington DC in the first week of August, a special one-day meeting was convened by the National Research Foundation, the National Academies of Science, and the Carnegie Corporation to focus on support for African research in science, technology, and innovation.  HFG Project Director Ann Lion served as a discussant on a panel led by USAID’s Deputy Administrator in Global Health, which highlighted the need to evolve from a donor grant model to more innovative financing approaches such as Development Credit Authorities and National Health Accounts to inform health expenditures.  Themes for the day included moving from aid to a university partnership model, from the concept of capacity building to one of institutional performance improvement, and from one-off projects and studies to a more coordinated research agenda through creation of national Science Councils. Also attending the event from Abt were Pam Riley and Hugh McDonough.

Stepping Up the Pace at AIDS 2014

Abt Associates showcased its work and technical expertise in both international and U.S.-based HIV and AIDS work at sessions and in an exhibit at the 20th International AIDS Society Conference (AIDS 2014), held July 20-25 in Melbourne, Australia. The bi-annual conference is the largest gathering for HIV and AIDS experts in the world. Besides being a platinum sponsor, Abt hosted one satellite session, participated in another, and gave two oral presentations and eleven poster presentations. Read more on Abt’s participation at AIDS 2014. Contact [email-masked].

Seeking Feedback on IHD FY15-16 Division Strategy

IHD is in the process of updating its Division Strategy for FY15-16 and welcomes your feedback.  We will circulate a brief slide deck with a high-level summary of the Strategy for review and comment through a series of meetings, discussions, webinars, and our AGI workspace in August.  An email and invitations describing how you can provide feedback will follow.

IHD Launches Business Development Quality Mentor Program

Effective immediately, Susan Scribner, Nancy Nachbar, Ann Lion, Margarita Fernandez, and Mark McEuen will serve as Quality Mentors for major bids on which IHD is the prime.  The Quality Mentor will be a resource for the technical leads and proposal team to help strengthen the quality of our capture and proposals. The mentors will participate in training to ensure they have state-of-the-art skills, and through the mentoring process will be transferring or strengthening similar skills across the proposal teams. Susan Scribner will lead the Quality Mentor Program by coordinating the roll-out, monitoring its effectiveness, and helping adjust the process as needed.

Upcoming Conferences: Abstract Due Dates, Notification Dates, and Acceptances

If you plan to submit an abstract or have an abstract accepted, please notify Liz Nugent.

45th Union World Conference on Lung Health (September 30-October 3, 2014, Barcelona, Spain) – 3 abstracts accepted

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) –abstract notices late August

APHA (November 15-19, 2014, New Orleans, LA) – 6 abstracts accepted, 5 wait listed

Global mHealth Forum (December 10-11, 2014, Maryland) – 10 abstracts submitted

14th World Congress on Public Health (February 11-15, 2015, Kolkata, India) – 2 abstracts submitted

Population Association of America (April 30-May 2, 2015, San Diego, CA) – Abstracts due September 26

Welcomes, Goodbyes – A Sampling

Welcome: Lowrey Redmond, IHD's New Business Director (starts 9/2/14)

Goodbye: Colm Fay, Itamar Katz, Christine Ortiz, Thierry Uwamahoro

Looking to Hire

The below positions are full-time IHD opportunities in the Bethesda office. All IHD openings can be found at: www.abtassociates.com/careers.

·         Senior Finance & Contract Analyst, Req ID 8721 – Posted 7/14/2014

·         Senior Analyst / Technical Coordinator, Req ID 9381 – Posted 07/10/2014

·         Associate / Private Sector Specialist, Req ID 9321 – Posted 07/09/2014

·         Senior Analyst / Manager, Strategic Monitoring and Data Analysis, Req ID 9081 – Posted 06/30/2014

·         Principal Associate / MNCH Strategic Lead, Req ID 3961 – Posted 04/02/2014

SAVE THE DATE!

August 21 – IHD Quarterly Update for US-based staff (Potomac Rm)

September 17 – IHD Global Staff Meeting (Capitol Rm)