Subject: June 2014 IHD E-letter
From: Diana Silimperi <[email-masked]>
Cc: Patricia Poulton <[email-masked]>, Mary Maguire <[email-masked]>, Mark Spranca <[email-masked]>, Doug Trapp <[email-masked]>, Sarah Armstrong <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 15:10:10 +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.

AIRS Brings Together Staff to Share Successes and Lessons Learned

The AIRS project held its annual Chief of Party (COP) retreat in Philadelphia June 4-8. More than 40 AIRS project staff, including COPs from 13 AIRS countries, attended the retreat, which addressed cross-cutting issues, such as increasing local government involvement, mHealth, innovations in indoor residual spraying (IRS), and supervisory tools. The project retreat allowed for robust south-to-south exchanges, team building, and sharing of lessons learned. At the event, President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) praised AIRS for successful systems management, innovations, gender integration, and communications efforts.

Mobile Money Pays Off

Carrying large amounts of cash into the field to pay seasonal workers increases the risk of theft and fraud. In response, AIRS Madagascar piloted an innovative mobile banking system during the 2013-2014 spray campaign to automate payments. Eliminating the need to travel to disburse payments in person not only reduces travel risks but also increases efficiency, transparency, and cost-effectiveness.

And More on Mobile Money… in Uganda

The Uganda IRS Phase II project is also using mobile money to pay more than 4,000 spray personnel working across 10 districts of northern Uganda. Using a web-based system, money is sent directly to a recipient. Previously, the project used Post Bank vans to take cash to different pay points, a job that took four staff working for 12 days to complete. Often payments were delayed due to bad roads and bank liquidity issues. After being piloted in Agago district, the mobile system has been scaled up to all districts. By reducing staff time to pay all 4,590 district-based spray personnel from 384 staff-hours to less than 20 minutes, mobile money decreases the cost of paying one spray operator from $1.25 to $0.16 and saves up to $5,000 per spray round.

HFG’s Ukraine Team Pilots Groundbreaking HIV Service Integration Model

HFG Ukraine is successfully piloting a new model of HIV service integration in the northern oblast (region) of Chernigiv. The model is groundbreaking as it includes HIV prevention, HIV detection using rapid tests, and basic care in a routine family practice scope of work. Despite ongoing political instability and in partnership with the Clinton Health Access Initiative and the AIDS Center of Chernigiv Oblast, the team trained 70 physicians in HIV/AIDS counseling, rapid testing, and basics of HIV care, and organized training for 75 nurses in HIV counseling, testing, and data reporting. The project will evaluate the pilot’s cost-effectiveness in anticipation of a nationwide scale-up of the model being incorporated into the national health reform agenda. Contact: [email-masked].

HFG Supporting Child-Friendly Court to Address Sexual Abuse in Swaziland

Rates of sexual and gender-based violence in Swaziland are alarmingly high – in a recent survey, 28 percent of 13-17 year-olds and 38 percent of 18-24 year-olds reported experiencing sexual violence. Governmental institutions tasked with processing the cases lack the capacity to effectively carry out their mandate. Through the HFG project, Abt is addressing this issue by supporting the Department of Social Welfare and Ministry of Justice as they roll out a newly established child-friendly court (CFC) in the Lubombo region. Key to this effort is building the capacity of court intermediaries to interact with child witnesses and of other CFC role-players to carry out the unique processes and procedures of a CFC. The CFC launch event, to be attended by the US Ambassador to Swaziland and high-level Swazi governmental authorities, is slated for June 12. Contact: [email-masked].

Online Health Information Network in Kenya Goes Live

Real-time sharing of health data improves quality of care and delivery of health services. Working with the AfyaInfo project, Uasin Gishu County in Kenya has successfully completed the initial phase of building a County Health Information Network. The network provides the county health system with a shared platform for communications, data sharing, and information exchange, dramatically improving patient care and management. Patients benefit from the facility’s ability to manage their health records electronically in a timely and efficient manner. Clinicians and program managers benefit from enhanced data capture and analysis options. Contact: [email-masked]

Updates from the SHOPS Project

SHOPS Brings Private Sector Expertise to the MicroNutrient Forum: On June 2-5, the Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) project staff presented on public-private partnerships and the enabling environment at the Micronutrient Forum Global Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Staff drew on eight years of experience in childhood diarrhea management to highlight how the private sector can get products and messages to providers and consumers and increase use among caregivers in a short time period. Contact: [email-masked].

West Africa Reviews Assessment of Its Private Health Sector, mHealth: On May 20, leaders of the health sector in West Africa gathered to discuss the role of the private sector in delivering family planning and HIV services, and to learn about the potential of mobile technology to meet challenges in these health areas. At this knowledge-sharing event, hosted by USAID West Africa and SHOPS, SHOPS staff briefed key stakeholders in Francophone Africa on findings from two new reports: a macro-level private health sector assessment and a scan of the landscape of mobile technology in the region. Contact: [email-masked].

SHOPS Lessons in mHealth: To showcase the breadth and depth of its mhealth experience, the SHOPS project held a public event June 17 in Washington, DC. With the SHOPS COPs in town, three case studies were featured: a supportive supervision tool for pharmacists in Ghana and Nigeria, an impact evaluation of a family planning text message service in Kenya, and a call center for family planning clients in India. The event allowed SHOPS to synthesize and share five years of innovations using mobile technologies to improve programs and support health outcomes. Contact: [email-masked].

Enabling Equitable Health Reforms (EEHR) Project Wraps Up in Albania

At the end-of-project event, the Albania Minister of Health praised EEHR accomplishments, thanked USAID for its support, and encouraged Albanian health stakeholders to roll out nationwide the initiatives begun under the project. EEHR (October 2010-June 2014) worked with government bodies, civil society representatives, and three pilot hospitals to institutionalize the engagement of stakeholders at all levels to increase transparency, accountability, and responsiveness. It piloted reform tools and techniques in hospitals, including human resource management systems, incident reporting mechanisms, visitor control policies, and outsourcing of food and laundry services for improved access to quality services and infection control. EEHR worked collaboratively with the Ministry of Health and other health institutions at the national level to address obstacles to more effective health policy and health sector coordination to increase access to health services, particularly for the poor.

Messages on Buses Promote Public and Private Provision of TB Care in Ethiopia

Public service messages such as “TB care is provided free of charge in public and private facilities,” can be seen prominently posted on public buses in Ethiopia thanks to ongoing Private Health Sector Program (PHSP) policy and advocacy support work at the national level. The messages, developed by Ethiopia’s National TB Program, demonstrate acknowledgement by the Federal Ministry of Health of the important role played by the private health sector in the provision of key public health services. Contact:  [email-masked].

IHD Supporting “Acting on the Call” and “5th Birthday and Beyond" to Prevent Maternal and Child Deaths

On June 25, Abt will participate in two special events demonstrating our commitment to ending preventable child and maternal deaths. IHD staff, including Diana Silimperi, will join representatives from USAID, the Government of Ethiopia, UNICEF, and other partners in Acting on the Call, a forum that celebrates the progress, assesses the challenges that remain, and identifies the steps needed to sustain momentum in the future for ending preventable maternal and child deaths.

That evening, the 5th Birthday and Beyond Campaign will hold a Capitol Hill reception calling on members of Congress to continue to support and celebrate America's global leadership for healthy children. Abt is part of the coalition supporting the campaign and urging continued action.

IHD 2014 State of the Division – Looking Forward to 2015

Speaking at IHD’s first ever “State of the Division 2014” gathering on June 4 in Bethesda, Diana Silimperi told attendees, “We are strong!” With long-term activities in 47 countries, 29 projects, 1,350 staff members, 263 reputational capital activities, and opening an Abt Great Britain office, IHD will continue strong execution of work throughout 2014.

ATLAS is 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 deadline for having FY15 goals established and entered into ATLAS Goals is on or before June 30. Direct any questions to [email-masked].

Still 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 venues 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 August 20 (FY15 Q1 Review).

·         IHD Global Staff Meeting – for all IHD staff; provides brief IHD update and highlights one particular project. Next IHD Global Staff Meeting is September 17.

·         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 is July 16.

·         IHD State of the Division – for all staff going forward – once a year event; provides overview of previous fiscal year and look to future for upcoming year. First State of the Division was held June 4, 2014.

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.

IHEA/ECHE Congress (July 12-16, Dublin, Ireland) – 4 abstracts accepted

20th International AIDS Conference (July 20-July 25, Melbourne, Australia) – 9 abstracts accepted + 1 satellite session and 1 AbtJTA event

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) – 6 abstracts accepted, 5 wait listed

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

Events in June

June 25 – “Acting on the Call” and “5th Birthday and Beyond" (see write-up above) ([email-masked])

June 27 – Abt-wide Annual Meeting

SAVE THE DATE!

July 16 – IHD Townhall

August 20 – IHD Quarterly Update

September 17 – IHD Global Staff Meeting

Sent to ALL IHD US & Field