Subject: January 2015 IHD E-letter
From: Diana Silimperi <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 20:19:15 +0000

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.

Abt Creates Buzz at Global mHealth Forum

This year’s Global mHealth Forum, held December 10-11, 2014, at the National Harbor in Maryland, featured a highly interactive structure organized around seven thematic tracks (finance, evidence, access, design, ecosystems, innovation, local ownership), application demos, hands-on implementation sessions, and “speed networking” events. Abt gave five presentations and was represented at the Forum by Pamela Riley, Joe Contini, Eric Couper, Pamela Dasher, Lena Koylada, Emily Sanders, and Ibrahim Yisa. As an event highlight, Abt proposed and was invited to set up a real-time SMS polling option at the Forum.  Eric Couper and Joe Contini negotiated with TextIt to provide free SMS for participants, and a sponsorship message for Abt.  Sample responses to the request for a conference “gem” via SMS included “USA health has much to learn from global mHealth initiatives – our Medicaid, underinsured, uninsured could benefit from many of these high-touch low-tech connections.” Contact: [email-masked].

What’s in a Name and Orange by Any Other Name

At the Global mHealth Forum, USAID announced a Memorandum of Understanding with mobile operator Orange to collaborate and contribute resources to develop scalable mhealth platforms.  The SHOPS project facilitated the agreement and is supporting the first set of applications in West Africa.  Pam Riley, USAID, and Orange executives met at the Forum to discuss partnership parameters including the need for regional solutions that cross national boundaries. At the same time, discussion is taking place about the need for new vocabulary for the mHealth sector, given that ehealth traditionally refers to the backbone data networks and mhealth to the devices in the hands of people to implement public health applications.  Some are calling for mehealth and others for digital health to better reflect the convergence.  Stay tuned. Contact: [email-masked].

Health Microinsurance:  Getting Started

On behalf of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Impact Insurance Facility, IHD has developed and piloted a two-day training course on health microinsurance.  The training targets private sector insurers, distribution channel partners, and other stakeholders interested in developing simple health insurance products targeting low-income households and other vulnerable populations.  A pilot of the two-day training held in Lusaka, Zambia on December 15-16, 2014, was organized and supported by the Zambia Microinsurance Technical Advisory Group and the Insurers Association of Zambia, with financial support from Financial Sector Deepening Zambia, a DFID-funded organization with a mandate to increase financial inclusion. The ILO plans to use the training in support of expanding access to health insurance to low-income households in developing countries. Contact [email-masked].

HFG Works with Barbados and St. Vincent and Grenadines to Analyze Health Spending

In December 2014, the Health Finance and Governance Project supported the Ministries of Health in Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines to complete their first Health Accounts estimation. Health Accounts use an internationally-standardized framework to estimate the amount of health spending in a year, breaking down spending by sources of financing, type of provider, type of activity, and disease/condition.  Information gathered will help inform decisions on how resources are allocated in efforts to achieve universal health coverage. HFG has supported Health Accounts estimations in four countries in the Caribbean working in partnership with the Center for Health Economics of the University of West Indies. Contact [email-masked].

Accelerating Country Progress toward Universal Health Coverage

December 12, 2014, marked the world’s first Universal Health Coverage Day two years after the United Nations unanimously endorsed universal health coverage. Starting this year, every December 12th will celebrate progress toward health for all.  View the Health Finance, and Governance Project’s work in UHC and read more about how Abt supports UHC and #HealthforAll. Contact [email-masked].

Lending AIRS a Helping Hand

On November 20, 2014, US Chargé d’Affaires in Madagascar, Stephen Anderson, visited Faratsiho District, where AIRS conducted its indoor residual spraying campaign this year. After learning about the spraying process, Chargé Anderson got involved firsthand. Fully attired in personal protective equipment, he sprayed a home himself to protect its residents from malaria. Contact: [email-masked]

Advocating for Action against Malaria

AIRS Project Director Bradford Lucas and AIRS Senior Technical Director Dereje Dengela will attend the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Vector Control Working Group (VCWG) annual meeting January 28-30 in Geneva, Switzerland. The purpose of the RBM VCWG is to align RBM partners on best practices to reach and maintain universal coverage with effective vector control interventions. Contact: [email-masked].

SUFP Project at Regional Symposium on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Rights and HIV in Zambia

Representing the Scaling up Family Planning (SUFP) project at the 2nd Regional Symposium on Adolescent, Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights and HIV in Africa, held in Lusaka, Zambia, December 7-10, 2014, were Atanasius Hamwaka, Osward Chikwaba, Paul Chungu, and Douglas Hampande. SUFP staffed a project booth and presented a poster “The Scaling up Family Planning Project’s Strategic Approach to Promote Youth-Friendly Health Services” which was widely viewed by Symposium delegates. Contact: [email-masked].

Institute of Medicine and USAID Evaluate Quality of Health Care Improvement Tools

On November 24, 2014 the Institute of Medicine convened a meeting of the USAID Standing Committee to Support USAID’s Engagement in Health Systems Strengthening to discuss the six most common quality improvement tools (accreditation, client-oriented provider efficient (COPE), standard-based management recognition (SBMR), improvement collaborative, in-service training, and supportive supervision). Leah Ekbladh presented on supportive supervision alongside colleagues from URC, JHPIEGO, EngenderHealth, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and the Joint Commission International who presented on the other five quality approaches. The next steps for the committee include developing criteria for use of the six approaches in future programming. Criteria will include impact on health outcomes, cost-effectiveness, scalability, and institutionalization. Contact: [email-masked].

Abt Co-hosts Implementing Best Practices in Reproductive Health Semi-annual Meeting

Diana Silimperi provided introductory remarks at an Implementing Best Practices (IBP) in Reproductive Health semi-annual consortium meeting co-hosted in Bethesda by Abt and Pathfinder on December 10-11, 2014. Also attending from Abt were Jeanette Kesselman, Lisa Nichols, Kuhu Maitra, and May Post. This meeting focused on the topic of Implementation Science (I.S.), which followed a special two-day Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation held at the National Institutes of Health that brought together national and international experts on I.S. Over 90 IBP members attended the December meeting, which sought to further understand the relationship of I.S. to family planning and reproductive health implementation. Keynote speakers discussed the overarching I.S. landscape while two panels delved further into I.S. implementation complexities. Regional IBP partners from East, Central, and Southern Africa attended and Asa Cuzin from the IBP Secretariat, WHO Geneva provided an update on West African activities. Contact: [email-masked].

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.

14th World Congress on Public Health (February 11-15, 2015, Kolkata, India) – 3 abstracts and 1 concurrent session accepted

Global Health Mini-University (March 2, 2015, Washington, DC) – 16 abstracts submitted

Population Association of America (April 30-May 2, 2015, San Diego, CA) – 2 abstracts accepted

International Health Economics Association (July 12-15, 2015, Milan, Italy) – abstracts due January 20

International AIDS Society Conference (July 19-22, 2015, Vancouver, Canada) – abstracts due January 27

American Public Health Association (October 31-November 4, 2015, Chicago, IL) –abstracts due February 13

Welcomes, Goodbyes – A Sampling

Welcome: Ian Carr (AIRS), Jose Gutierrez (HFG) Keith Mangam (AIRS), Erin Mohebi (SHOPS), Judith Moore (MNCH Strategic Lead), Naomi Riley (FCA), Phoebe Sloane (SHOPS)

Goodbye: Doug Johnson, Nancy Nachbar

Looking to Hire

The below positions are currently available in the U.S. All IHD openings can be found at: www.abtassociates.com/careers.

Senior Analyst / Technical Coordinator, HFG, Req 9381 – Posted 12/10/14

Associate Analyst, SHOPS, Req 15961 – Posted 12/5/14

Principal Associate / Portfolio Manager, Req 15321 – Posted 11/25/14

Finance & Contract Analyst, Req 15021 – Posted 11/14/2014

Senior Technical Writer / Editor, Req 13424 –  Posted 10/17/14

SAVE THE DATE!

January 21 – IHD Global Staff Meeting (9:00am EST)

January 22 – Boosting Financial Resilience by Helping Households Build Assets and Strengthen their Balance Sheets Webinar ([email-masked])

February 26 – Mental Health and Well-Being: From Risk to Resilience Webinar ([email-masked])

FROM DIANA’S DESK

BOLDLY Going to New Frontiers – And that is precisely what Abt will be doing as we kick off the planning process to develop the company’s next five-year strategic plan for 2017-2021. From January 8-10, Abt’s Board Members, the Management Advisory Group, the Project Management Solutions Team, and representatives from the Global Business Development Unit, convened at a retreat in Leesburg, Virginia, to develop a common understanding of what it will take for us to transform our organization to achieve our vision for 2021.

To inform the discussion, Mark Pocharski from Deloitte spoke to the group about the implications of global organizational transformation. A panel on the current market landscape featured Andrew Natsios, Former Administrator, USAID (currently Executive Professor Texas A&M); Raj Kumar, President/Editor in Chief, Devex; Paul Carttar, founder, Bridgespan Foundations; and Kate Eltrich, Sixkiller Consulting.

Other sessions and break-out groups focused on competitive movements, implications of the environment on our strategy, what will differentiate us in 2021, our operating platforms, and setting priorities.

It is an exciting time, and the Division will be reaching out to solicit staff input. We will work to align the IHD strategy with the overall corporate strategy, and by the next board retreat in January 2016, we will have a plan for specific goals and actions for the next five years as we embark on the road to 2021. Stay tuned for the journey ahead as we come together to expand Abt’s global impact by 2021.

Sent to ALL IHD US & Field