International Association of National Public Health Institutes
Encyclopedia
The International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI) is a member organization of government agencies working to improve national disease prevention and response. Based in Atlanta, Georgia
and Helsinki, Finland, IANPHI is made up of 80 national public health institutes
(NPHIs) around the world. The goal of IANPHI is to improve health outcomes, particularly in low-resource countries, by strengthening or creating NPHIs.
The majority of funding for IANPHI has come from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Since its creation in 2006, IANPHI has provided grant money for 36 individual projects (28 of which are ongoing) in 24 different countries. Today, IANPHI concentrates most of its resources on long-term projects, which take three or more years to implement.
(CDC), is an effective and cost-efficient way to systematically develop and sustain national public health systems.
NPHIs, including China CDC, INSP in Mexico, FIOCRUZ in Brazil and others in over 80 countries around the world, have been major contributors to reductions in morbidity and mortality from infectious and noncommunicable diseases. Many, including the CDC, have developed over several decades while others, including NPHIs in the United Kingdom and Canada, have been created following poorly managed threats such as BSE and SARS, in recognition that a coordinated system with a specialized institution is needed to effectively respond to disease threats.
NPHIs lead national efforts for disease surveillance and outbreak investigation (to monitor population health trends and detect and resolve outbreaks), laboratory services (to identify and confirm disease threats), health programs (including recommendations for immunizations and maternal and child health initiatives), and education and research (including new treatments and technologies). NPHIs give governments the ability to assess and address major disease threats in a country, both acute and long-term, using scientific, evidence-based policies and strategies.
Focused disease control programs driven by external priorities and investment have improved health in many countries. NPHIs are particularly valuable in low-resource countries, where they create a career home for public health researchers and scientists – fostering the evidence-based approaches necessary to ensure that government policies are based on scientific evidence rather than politics.
IANPHI was formally launched at the first General Assembly in Brazil in January 2006, with 39 founding members and a one-year grant from the Gates Foundation. Under a subsequent five-year grant from the Gates Foundation awarded in late 2006, the membership has expanded to over 80 institutes in 74 countries around the world.
IANPHI's activities fall into three areas:
The secretariat, co-located in Atlanta and Helsinki, is responsible for the day-today activities of the organization.
, Ethiopia
, Ghana
, Guinea-Bissau
, Malawi
, Morocco
, Mozambique
, Nigeria
, Tanzania
, and Togo
.
Bangladesh: Strengthen disease surveillance and outbreak response in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
has limited ability to get accurate data quickly from its 400-plus local disease reporting sites and integrateit at the sub-national and national levels. This three-year project will address that deficit, so that the country’s Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) can track potential outbreaks and emerging threats that typically show up first in far-flung locations. IEDCR will enhance its capacity for real-time disease intelligence by expanding its innovative web-based information gathering and evaluation system to the local level. The project will lay the foundation for noncommunicable disease surveillance and a national laboratory network. Given IEDCR’s strong leadership and capacity, substantive relationships with national and interna¬tional partners, and potential for linkages with its new Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (FELTP), this project will be a model for countries in Asia and Africa with pressing needs to expand evidence-based decision making.
Ethiopia Establish Ethiopia NPHI
IANPHI supports the creation of an emergency operations center and enhanced laboratory capacity to detect disease outbreaks in Ethiopia
. Project partners and collaborators include WHO
, which has offered expertise on emergency response preparedness planning; the U.S. CDC, which has based its FELTP at EHNRI and is providing techni¬cal assistance on emergency preparedness; and the Associa¬tion of Public Health Laboratories, which is actively involved in strengthening laboratory components. IANPHI’s member from Norway has expressed interest in providing technical assistance. Perkins+Will, a U.S.-based architectural firm, is designing the new emergency operations center.
Ghana: Establish Ghana CDC
Ghana
has worked for several decades to build a national primary health care network and has developed substantive capacity at the Ghana Health Service and the School of Public Health in research, surveillance, monitoring and evaluation, and other public health functions. IANPHI is working to develop and fund a strengthened and streamlined public health system through a new “Ghana CDC” that will better respond to health threats and address the major causes of death and disability in the country. It will link and strengthen maternal and child health, surveillance, vaccine and immunization coverage, lab capacity, health promotion, environmental and occupational health, and training. IANPHI will assess current public health capacity, facilitate develop¬ment of a strategic framework for health, and help implement and fund a redesigned, expanded public health system.
Guinea-Bissau: Transform the national public health system by creating a new NPHI
IANPHI, with technical assistance from Brazil’s FIOCRUZ, led efforts to bring together Guinea-Bissau
’s disjointed public health system into a new NPHI that links its National Laboratory of Public Health, the Bandim Health Project (field epidemiology), the Ministry of Health’s epidemiology unit, and the National School of Public Health. With IANPHI support, the ministry has renovated the partially destroyed headquarters and national lab. The new institute in Guinea-Bissau will strengthen core public health functions including laboratory science, data collection and analysis, disease outbreak monitoring, and training. As the first donor to the new institute, IANPHI has leveraged funds from the World Bank
, WHO
, and the governments of Brazil
, China
, and Portugal
, which have provided lab equipment, phones, computers, generator fuel, library materials, and human resource consultation.
Mozambique: Establish Mozambique NPHI
Following discussions with IANPHI, Mozambique
intends to transform the country’s National Institute of Health (NIH) into a comprehensive NPHI focusing on collecting data to inform public health decisions. That will require significant organizational, human resource, and infrastructure changes. Without a central reference lab or adequate human resources, NIH cannot quickly identify major disease threats or outbreaks nor contain them. IANPHI is partnering with Brazil’s FIOCRUZ, and architects HDR CUH2A’s Design 4 Others to help Mozambique strengthen disease monitor¬ing and outbreak investigation, create a formal system to collect and analyze health data to promote evidence-based decision making, and build a coordinated system of public health laboratories, linked to a new NPHI facility. The U.S. CDC in Maputo will oversee $9 million in budgeted PEPFAR funding.
Morocco: Establish the Morocco NPHI
Morocco
faces multiple public health burdens: infectious diseases, high maternal mortality rates, a growing incidence of noncommunicable diseases, and risks posed by environ¬mental toxins. Inadequate laboratories and surveillance as well as a lack of technical and research expertise hinder evidence-based decision making. Based on input from IANPHI-funded workshops and public health experts from the U.S. and Norway, Morocco’s National Institute of Hygiene is exploring creation of a new NPHI that would monitor, assess, and respond to health threats. Envisioned is an institute responsible for environmental health, non¬communicable diseases, poison control, pharmacovigilence, maternal child health, and research. The NPHI would coordinate public health functions, enhance technical expertise (including new laboratories and training), and strengthen surveillance and health information. Pilot surveillance projects under consideration include assessments of environmental hazards, maternal mortality, and tobacco and other NCD health risks. Morocco also is exploring several partnerships: a twinning program to help build applied research capacity, laboratory design by architecture firm Perkins+Will, and creation of an FELTP by the CDC.
Nigeria: Build ability to rapidly identify and treat MDR-TB
The Nigeria
n Institute for Medical Research (NIMR)—one of the first to conduct national surveys using the new WHO-approved Hain Assay—found that 6.1% of patients had organisms resistant to both INH and rifampin. Partners, including the U.S. CDC, South Africa’s National Institute of Communicable Diseases, Hain Lifescience, and the Harvard School of Public Health, have donated instruments to perform liquid cultures, a power generator, a vehicle to transfer samples, lab expansion, and training. In the third year of IANPHI funding, NIMR will continue to strengthen its public health capacity through collaborative efforts to expand MDR-TB surveillance and training. The project is a model for other developing countries and has attracted the interest of WHO, resulting in Green Light Committee approval for Nigeria to obtain second-line antituberculosis drugs at reduced cost for treatment of MDR-TB.
Nigeria: Study the Factors Influencing Community Attitudes Toward Timely Perinatal Care
Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) Nwill study the factors influencing community attitudes toward timely perinatal care with the goal of improving maternal and neonatal outcomes. More than 140 women die each day in Nigeria from pregnancy and childbirth complications—the world’s second highest number of maternal deaths. The project, which is expected to be a model for all of Nigeria, will use a 10-step community participation process that has improved perinatal health and outcomes in other developing countries.
Tanzania: Transform NPHI by adding NCD capacity.
The burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is increasing, but in the past, there has been limited information about NCDs and risk factors such as tobacco use. IANPHI is working with the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) in Tanzania
to help NIMR take on major new responsibilities in NCD surveillance and control and layer NCD surveillance onto existing infrastructure for infectious diseases. A pioneer in Africa in establishing the national Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response System for infectious diseases, NIMR now plans to be a forerunner on the continent in the field of chronic disease surveillance. IANPHI’s efforts—and good timing—kick started the project, which is now underway on several levels. IANPHI’s grant included funding for two FELTP fellows and work on STEPS and vital statistics. AFENET and the University of Copenhagen are providing training at the community level. IANPHI is funding district and regional surveillance and, with the U.S. CDC, analysis of vital statistics. A prevention component will also be developed. NIMR leaders expect to gain valuable experience through this project that can be applied to other NPHIs hoping to add NCD functions. Project partners also include Finland’s THL and Columbia University.
Togo: Create Togo NPHI
Togo
has seen dramatic declines in its economy, living standards, and health outcomes since the early 1990s. Despite many challenges—minimal donor presence, fragile infrastructure, human resource deficits, and underfunded public health sector—the country’s leaders, including the president, believe that a comprehensive national public health institute is needed to meet the nation’s many health challenges. After an initial assessment, IANPHI has recommended some immediate actions to improve and modernize l’Institut National d’Hygiene (INH)—the govern¬ment’s designated agenda for public health leadership—as a foundation for development into an NPHI. These first steps focus on improving the quality of laboratory services for disease surveillance and outbreak response and integrating laboratory and epidemiologic efforts. In addition to strengthening core public health functions at the nation¬al and sub-national levels, the project provides an opportu¬nity to increase Togo’s visibility among international donors and partners and integrate Togo into regional and global public health initiatives. The Institute Pasteur of Morocco is an active partner, providing technical assistance on site as well as training opportunities in Morocco. Partners include Germany’s international cooperation agency (GTZ) and France’s Institut de Veille Sanitaire, which may use Togo’s experience as a model project for a new global assistance initiative.
Uganda: Research the Ecology, Behavior and Genetic Variability of Aedes Africanus Arbovirus Vector.
The Uganda
Virus Research Institute (UVRI) will research the ecology, behavior and genetic variability of Aedes africanus arbovirus vector in order to predict the risks of arboviral outbreaks and design more effective disease control strategies such as insecticide spraying and vaccinations. One of the larger goals of the grant is for UVRI to create a mosquito specimen and DNA repository that will provide baseline information for larger research studies relevant to the control of Ae africanus species. Several diseases in Uganda have been traced to Aedes africanus arbovirus spread by mosquitoes including epidemics of yellow fever, Rift Valley fever, dengue, and West Nile virus.
Vietnam: Use Molecular Methods to Study and Identify the cagA Gene in H. pylori Infected Gastric Cancer Patients
Vietnam
National Institute of Hygiene & Epidemiology (NIHE) will use molecular methods to study and identify the cagA gene in H. pylori infected gastric cancer patients. H. Pylori has been shown to be associated with gastric cancer, and NIHE is hoping to determine the role of the cagA gene in H. Pylori. NIHE hopes to get a better understanding of the biological mechanism for gastric cancer in order to provide better diagnosis and treatment options for people in Vietnam, where gastric cancer is the second most common cancer found in men and the third most common in women.
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
and Helsinki, Finland, IANPHI is made up of 80 national public health institutes
National public health institutes
National public health institutes are science-based governmental organizations that serve as a focal point for a country's public health efforts, as well as a critical component of global disease prevention and response systems...
(NPHIs) around the world. The goal of IANPHI is to improve health outcomes, particularly in low-resource countries, by strengthening or creating NPHIs.
The majority of funding for IANPHI has come from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Since its creation in 2006, IANPHI has provided grant money for 36 individual projects (28 of which are ongoing) in 24 different countries. Today, IANPHI concentrates most of its resources on long-term projects, which take three or more years to implement.
The national public health institute model
The NPHI model, exemplified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and PreventionCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services headquartered in Druid Hills, unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, in Greater Atlanta...
(CDC), is an effective and cost-efficient way to systematically develop and sustain national public health systems.
NPHIs, including China CDC, INSP in Mexico, FIOCRUZ in Brazil and others in over 80 countries around the world, have been major contributors to reductions in morbidity and mortality from infectious and noncommunicable diseases. Many, including the CDC, have developed over several decades while others, including NPHIs in the United Kingdom and Canada, have been created following poorly managed threats such as BSE and SARS, in recognition that a coordinated system with a specialized institution is needed to effectively respond to disease threats.
NPHIs lead national efforts for disease surveillance and outbreak investigation (to monitor population health trends and detect and resolve outbreaks), laboratory services (to identify and confirm disease threats), health programs (including recommendations for immunizations and maternal and child health initiatives), and education and research (including new treatments and technologies). NPHIs give governments the ability to assess and address major disease threats in a country, both acute and long-term, using scientific, evidence-based policies and strategies.
Focused disease control programs driven by external priorities and investment have improved health in many countries. NPHIs are particularly valuable in low-resource countries, where they create a career home for public health researchers and scientists – fostering the evidence-based approaches necessary to ensure that government policies are based on scientific evidence rather than politics.
History and activities
In 2002, the directors of nearly 30 NPHIs met in Bellagio, Italy to share best practices and discuss opportunities for collaboration. In 2004, the group reconvened in Helsinki and declared its intention to forge an alliance.IANPHI was formally launched at the first General Assembly in Brazil in January 2006, with 39 founding members and a one-year grant from the Gates Foundation. Under a subsequent five-year grant from the Gates Foundation awarded in late 2006, the membership has expanded to over 80 institutes in 74 countries around the world.
IANPHI's activities fall into three areas:
- Projects (targeting investments to create or strengthen NPHIs in low-resource countries)
- Policy (developing a framework, tools and policy papers for public health system strengthening)
- Leadership development (creating an international community of NPHI directors)
IANPHI Member NPHIs
- Afghanistan: Afghan Public Health Institute
- Albania: Institute of Public Health
- Angola: National Public Health Institute
- Argentina: National Laboratories and Health Institutes Administration (ANLIS) "Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán"
- Bangladesh: Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control & Research - IEDCR
- Belgium: Scientific Institute of Public Health
- Brazil: Oswaldo Cruz Foundation - FIOCRUZ
- Cambodia : National Institute of Public Health
- Canada: Public Health Agency of CanadaPublic Health Agency of CanadaThe Public Health Agency of Canada is an agency of the Government of Canada that is responsible for public health, emergency preparedness, and response and infectious and chronic disease control and prevention...
- Chile: Public Health Institute of Chile
- China: Chinese Center for Disease Control and PreventionChinese Center for Disease Control and PreventionThe Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention is an agency of the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China based in Beijing, China. It works to protect public health and safety by providing information to enhance health decisions, and it promotes health through partnerships...
- China: Centre for Health Protection
- Colombia: National Institute of Health
- Costa Rica: National Institute for Research on Nutrition and Health
- Côte d'Ivoire : National Public Health Institute
- Croatia: Croatian National Institute of Public Health
- Cuba: Institute of Tropical Medicine "Pedro Kouri"
- Czech Republic: National Institute of Public Health SZU
- Denmark: State Department of Public Health
- Ecuador: National Institute for Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- Estonia: National Institute for Health Development
- Ethiopia : Ethiopian Health & Nutrition Research Institute
- Finland: National Public Health Institute of FinlandNational Public Health Institute of FinlandThe National Public Health Institute of Finland was a research and expert institute under the charged with the task of protecting and promoting health in Finland. KTL was founded in 1911; the final form was established in 1982 in order to promote public health in Finland.The institution had a...
- THL - France: National Institute of Health and Medical Research INSERM Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche MédicaleInstitut National de la Santé et de la Recherche MédicaleInstitut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale is a French biomedical and public health research institution.- Medical research organisation :...
- France: French Institute for Public Health Surveillance InVS
- Germany: Robert Koch InstituteRobert Koch InstituteThe Robert Koch Institute is the German federal institution responsible for disease control and prevention. It is located in Berlin and Wernigerode and is part of the Federal Ministry of Health.-History:...
- Ghana: Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research
- Guinea: National Institute of Public Health Guinea (Guinea NPHI)
- Hong Kong: Centre for Health ProtectionCentre for Health ProtectionThe Centre for Health Protection is an agency under the Department of Health in Hong Kong and responsible for health and safety.Created in 2003 in response to the SARS outbreak, CHP plays the same role and function as the Centers for Disease Control in the United States and the European Centre for...
- Hungary: National Center for Epidemiology
- Iceland: Public Health Institute of Iceland
- India: National Centre for Disease Control
- Iran: Institute of Public Health Research
- Ireland: The Institute of Public Health in Ireland
- Israel: Israel Center for Disease Control
- Italy: National Institute of Health
- Japan: National Institute of Public Health of Japan
- Kenya: Kenya Medical Research Institute
- Latvia: Public Health Agency
- Macedonia : Republic Institute for Health Protection
- Mexico: National Institute of Public Health
- Moldova : National Scientific and Practical Center of Preventive Medicine
- Mongolia : Public Health Institute of Ministry of Health
- Morocco: Institute Pasteur of Morocco
- Morocco: National Institute of Hygiene
- Mozambique: National Institute for Health
- Myanmar: National Health Laboratory
- The Netherlands: Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the EnvironmentNetherlands National Institute for Public Health and the EnvironmentThe Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment , is a Dutch research institute that is an independent agency of the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport....
- RIVM - Nigeria: Nigerian Institute of Medical Research N.I.M.R.Nigerian Institute of Medical ResearchNigerian Institute of Medical ResearchThe Nigerian Institute of Medical Research in Yaba, Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria is the apex medical research institute in Nigeria. Until the establishment of National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development in Abuja, it was the only institute in the country specifically dedicated...
- Nigeria: Centre for Disease Control
- Norway: Norwegian Institute of Public HealthNorwegian Institute of Public HealthThe Norwegian Institute of Public Health is a subordinate institution to the Ministry of Health and Care Services....
- Pakistan: Faculty of Community Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan
- Panama: Gorgas Memorial Institute of Health Studies
- Peru : Peruvian National Institute of Health
- Poland : National Institute of Public Health
- Portugal: Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- Portugal: The National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge INSA
- Russian Federation: National Research Center for Preventive Medicine
- Serbia: Institute of Public Health of Serbia
- Slovenia: Institute of Public Health of the Republic of Slovenia
- South Africa: National Institute for Communicable Diseases - NICD
- Spain: Carlos III Health Institute
- Sudan: National Public Health InstitutePublic Health Institute, SudanThe Public Health Institute is a training and research institute run by the Federal Ministry of Health of Sudan.Training programs are Master of Family Medicine, Master of Public Health In-service Program, Master in disaster management and Master of Public Health.The institute has 25 full-time...
- Sweden: Swedish National Institute of Public Health
- Tanzania: National Institute for Medical Research - NIMR
- Thailand: National Institute of Health, Dept. of Medical Sciences, Ministry of Public Health
- Togo: National Institute of Hygiene
- Turkey: Refik Saydam Hygiene Center
- Uganda: Uganda Virus Research Institute UVRI Uganda Virus Research InstituteUganda Virus Research InstituteThe Uganda Virus Research Institute , located in Entebbe, Uganda, was established in 1936 as the Yellow Fever Research Institute by the Rockefeller Foundation. In 1950, after gaining regional recognition it was renamed the East African Virus Research institute...
- United Kingdom: Health Protection AgencyHealth Protection AgencyThe Health Protection Agency, or, in Welsh, Yr Asiantaeth Diogelu Iechyd is a statutory corporation. It is an independent UK organisation that was set up by the government in 2003 to protect the public from threats to their health from infectious diseases and environmental hazards...
- United States: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Vietnam: National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology - NIHE
IANPHI Associate Member NPHIs
- El Salvador: Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance
- Ghana: Ghana Health ServiceGhana Health ServiceThe Ghana Health Service is a Ghanian government body established in 1996 as part of the Health Sector Reform of Ghana. The Health Service is under the Ministry of Health. The Health service primarily administrates the health services provided by the government and in implementing government...
- Guinea Bissau: National Institute of Public Health (INASA)
- Jordan: Jordan Ministry of Health
- Malawi: Ministry of Health
- Nepal: School of Public Health and Community Medicine B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences
- Nigeria: National Primary Health Care Development Agency
- Papua New Guinea: National Department of Health
- Saudi Arabia: Ministry of Health
Organization
INAPHI is managed by an executive board and secretariat. Executive board members consider and vote on issues of strategic direction and policy and on project and funding recommendations. There are currently 11 active members on the executive board:- Jeffrey P. Koplan, President - Director, Emory UniversityEmory UniversityEmory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
Global Health Institute, and former director of the U.S. CDC - Pekka PuskaPekka PuskaPekka Puska is a Finnish professor and expert on public health and policy. Professor Puska has held the position of Director General of the National Institute for Health and Welfare , Finland, since the beginning of 2009...
, IANPHI Vice President - Director General, National Institute for Health and Welfare (Finland) - David Butler Jones- Public Health Agency of Canada
- Reinhard Burger, Germany - Robert Koch Institute, Germany
- Rajae El Aouad- National Institute of Hygiene, Morocco
- Mwele Ntuli Malecela - National Institute for Medical Research, Tanzania
- Justin McCracken -Health Protection Agency, UK
- Mahmudur Rahman - Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research, Bangladesh
- Amabelia Rodrigues - National Institute of Public Health, Guinea Bissau
- Mario Rodriguez - Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica, Mexico
- Yu Wang - Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
The secretariat, co-located in Atlanta and Helsinki, is responsible for the day-today activities of the organization.
IANPHI long-term projects
IANPHI’s long-term projects help public health systems in low-resource countries respond to modern public health challenges, improve outcomes, and support healthy populations and strong economies. These intensive multi-year engagements develop and strengthen national public health institutes (NPHIs), moving them forward on a continuum from those least developed to those with a comprehensive and coordinated scope of public health responsibilities. Currently, IANPHI has ongoing long-term projects in BangladeshBangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
, Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, and Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
.
Bangladesh: Strengthen disease surveillance and outbreak response in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
has limited ability to get accurate data quickly from its 400-plus local disease reporting sites and integrateit at the sub-national and national levels. This three-year project will address that deficit, so that the country’s Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) can track potential outbreaks and emerging threats that typically show up first in far-flung locations. IEDCR will enhance its capacity for real-time disease intelligence by expanding its innovative web-based information gathering and evaluation system to the local level. The project will lay the foundation for noncommunicable disease surveillance and a national laboratory network. Given IEDCR’s strong leadership and capacity, substantive relationships with national and interna¬tional partners, and potential for linkages with its new Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (FELTP), this project will be a model for countries in Asia and Africa with pressing needs to expand evidence-based decision making.
Ethiopia Establish Ethiopia NPHI
IANPHI supports the creation of an emergency operations center and enhanced laboratory capacity to detect disease outbreaks in Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Project partners and collaborators include WHO
Who
Who may refer to:* Who , an English-language pronoun* who , a Unix command* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism- Art and entertainment :* Who? , a 1958 novel by Algis Budrys...
, which has offered expertise on emergency response preparedness planning; the U.S. CDC, which has based its FELTP at EHNRI and is providing techni¬cal assistance on emergency preparedness; and the Associa¬tion of Public Health Laboratories, which is actively involved in strengthening laboratory components. IANPHI’s member from Norway has expressed interest in providing technical assistance. Perkins+Will, a U.S.-based architectural firm, is designing the new emergency operations center.
Ghana: Establish Ghana CDC
Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
has worked for several decades to build a national primary health care network and has developed substantive capacity at the Ghana Health Service and the School of Public Health in research, surveillance, monitoring and evaluation, and other public health functions. IANPHI is working to develop and fund a strengthened and streamlined public health system through a new “Ghana CDC” that will better respond to health threats and address the major causes of death and disability in the country. It will link and strengthen maternal and child health, surveillance, vaccine and immunization coverage, lab capacity, health promotion, environmental and occupational health, and training. IANPHI will assess current public health capacity, facilitate develop¬ment of a strategic framework for health, and help implement and fund a redesigned, expanded public health system.
Guinea-Bissau: Transform the national public health system by creating a new NPHI
IANPHI, with technical assistance from Brazil’s FIOCRUZ, led efforts to bring together Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
’s disjointed public health system into a new NPHI that links its National Laboratory of Public Health, the Bandim Health Project (field epidemiology), the Ministry of Health’s epidemiology unit, and the National School of Public Health. With IANPHI support, the ministry has renovated the partially destroyed headquarters and national lab. The new institute in Guinea-Bissau will strengthen core public health functions including laboratory science, data collection and analysis, disease outbreak monitoring, and training. As the first donor to the new institute, IANPHI has leveraged funds from the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
, WHO
Who
Who may refer to:* Who , an English-language pronoun* who , a Unix command* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism- Art and entertainment :* Who? , a 1958 novel by Algis Budrys...
, and the governments of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, which have provided lab equipment, phones, computers, generator fuel, library materials, and human resource consultation.
Mozambique: Establish Mozambique NPHI
Following discussions with IANPHI, Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
intends to transform the country’s National Institute of Health (NIH) into a comprehensive NPHI focusing on collecting data to inform public health decisions. That will require significant organizational, human resource, and infrastructure changes. Without a central reference lab or adequate human resources, NIH cannot quickly identify major disease threats or outbreaks nor contain them. IANPHI is partnering with Brazil’s FIOCRUZ, and architects HDR CUH2A’s Design 4 Others to help Mozambique strengthen disease monitor¬ing and outbreak investigation, create a formal system to collect and analyze health data to promote evidence-based decision making, and build a coordinated system of public health laboratories, linked to a new NPHI facility. The U.S. CDC in Maputo will oversee $9 million in budgeted PEPFAR funding.
Morocco: Establish the Morocco NPHI
Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
faces multiple public health burdens: infectious diseases, high maternal mortality rates, a growing incidence of noncommunicable diseases, and risks posed by environ¬mental toxins. Inadequate laboratories and surveillance as well as a lack of technical and research expertise hinder evidence-based decision making. Based on input from IANPHI-funded workshops and public health experts from the U.S. and Norway, Morocco’s National Institute of Hygiene is exploring creation of a new NPHI that would monitor, assess, and respond to health threats. Envisioned is an institute responsible for environmental health, non¬communicable diseases, poison control, pharmacovigilence, maternal child health, and research. The NPHI would coordinate public health functions, enhance technical expertise (including new laboratories and training), and strengthen surveillance and health information. Pilot surveillance projects under consideration include assessments of environmental hazards, maternal mortality, and tobacco and other NCD health risks. Morocco also is exploring several partnerships: a twinning program to help build applied research capacity, laboratory design by architecture firm Perkins+Will, and creation of an FELTP by the CDC.
Nigeria: Build ability to rapidly identify and treat MDR-TB
The Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n Institute for Medical Research (NIMR)—one of the first to conduct national surveys using the new WHO-approved Hain Assay—found that 6.1% of patients had organisms resistant to both INH and rifampin. Partners, including the U.S. CDC, South Africa’s National Institute of Communicable Diseases, Hain Lifescience, and the Harvard School of Public Health, have donated instruments to perform liquid cultures, a power generator, a vehicle to transfer samples, lab expansion, and training. In the third year of IANPHI funding, NIMR will continue to strengthen its public health capacity through collaborative efforts to expand MDR-TB surveillance and training. The project is a model for other developing countries and has attracted the interest of WHO, resulting in Green Light Committee approval for Nigeria to obtain second-line antituberculosis drugs at reduced cost for treatment of MDR-TB.
Nigeria: Study the Factors Influencing Community Attitudes Toward Timely Perinatal Care
Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) Nwill study the factors influencing community attitudes toward timely perinatal care with the goal of improving maternal and neonatal outcomes. More than 140 women die each day in Nigeria from pregnancy and childbirth complications—the world’s second highest number of maternal deaths. The project, which is expected to be a model for all of Nigeria, will use a 10-step community participation process that has improved perinatal health and outcomes in other developing countries.
Tanzania: Transform NPHI by adding NCD capacity.
The burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is increasing, but in the past, there has been limited information about NCDs and risk factors such as tobacco use. IANPHI is working with the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
to help NIMR take on major new responsibilities in NCD surveillance and control and layer NCD surveillance onto existing infrastructure for infectious diseases. A pioneer in Africa in establishing the national Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response System for infectious diseases, NIMR now plans to be a forerunner on the continent in the field of chronic disease surveillance. IANPHI’s efforts—and good timing—kick started the project, which is now underway on several levels. IANPHI’s grant included funding for two FELTP fellows and work on STEPS and vital statistics. AFENET and the University of Copenhagen are providing training at the community level. IANPHI is funding district and regional surveillance and, with the U.S. CDC, analysis of vital statistics. A prevention component will also be developed. NIMR leaders expect to gain valuable experience through this project that can be applied to other NPHIs hoping to add NCD functions. Project partners also include Finland’s THL and Columbia University.
Togo: Create Togo NPHI
Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
has seen dramatic declines in its economy, living standards, and health outcomes since the early 1990s. Despite many challenges—minimal donor presence, fragile infrastructure, human resource deficits, and underfunded public health sector—the country’s leaders, including the president, believe that a comprehensive national public health institute is needed to meet the nation’s many health challenges. After an initial assessment, IANPHI has recommended some immediate actions to improve and modernize l’Institut National d’Hygiene (INH)—the govern¬ment’s designated agenda for public health leadership—as a foundation for development into an NPHI. These first steps focus on improving the quality of laboratory services for disease surveillance and outbreak response and integrating laboratory and epidemiologic efforts. In addition to strengthening core public health functions at the nation¬al and sub-national levels, the project provides an opportu¬nity to increase Togo’s visibility among international donors and partners and integrate Togo into regional and global public health initiatives. The Institute Pasteur of Morocco is an active partner, providing technical assistance on site as well as training opportunities in Morocco. Partners include Germany’s international cooperation agency (GTZ) and France’s Institut de Veille Sanitaire, which may use Togo’s experience as a model project for a new global assistance initiative.
Uganda: Research the Ecology, Behavior and Genetic Variability of Aedes Africanus Arbovirus Vector.
The Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
Virus Research Institute (UVRI) will research the ecology, behavior and genetic variability of Aedes africanus arbovirus vector in order to predict the risks of arboviral outbreaks and design more effective disease control strategies such as insecticide spraying and vaccinations. One of the larger goals of the grant is for UVRI to create a mosquito specimen and DNA repository that will provide baseline information for larger research studies relevant to the control of Ae africanus species. Several diseases in Uganda have been traced to Aedes africanus arbovirus spread by mosquitoes including epidemics of yellow fever, Rift Valley fever, dengue, and West Nile virus.
Vietnam: Use Molecular Methods to Study and Identify the cagA Gene in H. pylori Infected Gastric Cancer Patients
Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
National Institute of Hygiene & Epidemiology (NIHE) will use molecular methods to study and identify the cagA gene in H. pylori infected gastric cancer patients. H. Pylori has been shown to be associated with gastric cancer, and NIHE is hoping to determine the role of the cagA gene in H. Pylori. NIHE hopes to get a better understanding of the biological mechanism for gastric cancer in order to provide better diagnosis and treatment options for people in Vietnam, where gastric cancer is the second most common cancer found in men and the third most common in women.