EpiC Blog

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Responding to urgent needs during the COVID-19 pandemic

EpiC partnered with 54 country governments, 11 academic institutions, and 94 local organizations and professional associations to prevent the spread of infections, detect cases, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assessing the health system

EpiC conducted rapid assessments in over 47 countries to understand health system readiness to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and accept new technologies and resources. EpiC assessed facility-level readiness for emergency response in over 600 hospitals across 30 countries; the feasibility of scaling up the use of medical liquid oxygen in 26 countries; and the feasibility of a pilot implementation project to rapidly detect cases and initiate treatment with oral antivirals in 9 countries, among other rapid assessments.

Supporting COVID-19 vaccine readiness and rollout

EpiC strengthened COVID-19 vaccine readiness and rollout in 26 countries. EpiC’s support for COVID-19 vaccination service delivery resulted in the administration of 20,472,413 doses globally between July 2021 and June 2024.

Building capacity to respond to the pandemic

Across 40 countries, EpiC built the capacity of staff at all levels of the health system through curriculum development and accreditation, training, mentorship, and supervision. EpiC trained 45,192 staff in both public and private institutions on clinical care; infection prevention and control; diagnostics; COVID-19 vaccination; risk communication and community engagement; oxygen system maintenance and repair; and data quality and reporting.*

*Potential duplicate data may have resulted from reporting across different indicators.

Implementing the COVID-19 Test to Treat strategy

EpiC rapidly implemented the Test to Treat for COVID-19 strategy to explore opportunities for integration and scale-up in Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, El Salvador, Malawi, and Senegal. The strategy aims to identify COVID-19 cases early, followed by quick initiation of treatment with oral antivirals for eligible patients to prevent hospitalization and death. Across the five countries, EpiC piloted the Test to Treat strategy in 88 facilities. Between December 2023 and March 2024, 25,056 patients presented for care with suspected COVID-19, of which 20,660 were tested for COVID-19 and linked to care.

Strengthening the medical oxygen ecosystem

EpiC supports 24 countries to strengthen their oxygen ecosystems through infrastructure improvements, market shaping, and procurement. In 160 hospitals across 10 countries — Jamaica, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea, and Vietnam — EpiC’s liquid oxygen infrastructure improvements will result in piping oxygen to an additional 13,134 patient beds. This improves patient care by ensuring availability of oxygen to treat life-threatening conditions including severe pneumonia, malaria, sepsis, trauma, complications from birth or pregnancy, and surgery.

Addressing the mental health and psychosocial needs of health care workers

To advocate for the unique, intersectional mental health and psychosocial support needs of the health care workforce during COVID-19, EpiC applied evidence-based solutions to create more supportive work environments and address structural drivers of burnout and attrition among the health care workers in seven countries.

Partnering with the Global Fund to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic

In 20 countries, EpiC partnered with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria to improve capacity for COVID-19 pandemic response and ensure continuity of HIV and other essential health services. EpiC trained staff on Global Fund priorities and procedures, seconded expert staff to the Ministry of Health and country coordination mechanisms, and procured priority equipment and supplies.