The USAID-supported Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC) project hosted a webinar on strategies for improving access to medical oxygen and strengthening national oxygen ecosystems. Oxygen is a life-saving commodity in the fight against COVID-19. The historically short supply of oxygen in low- and middle-income countries has been exacerbated by the global pandemic, along […]
Expanding access to COVID-19 vaccines in Botswana via drive-through sites and mobile outreach
Andrea Surette, FHI 360Virginia Letsatsi-Modise, FHI 360Kabelo Poloko, FHI 360 Since October 2021, the USAID-funded Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC) project in Botswana partnered with the country’s Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) to reach more than 23,457 people with COVID-19 vaccinations at drive-through sites, project-supported clinics, and government health facilities, and through […]
Strengthening case management and critical care during public health emergencies in Nigeria: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic
Bridget Akudo Nwagbara, FHI 360Immaculata Amadi, FHI 360Benmun Damul, FHI 360Andrea Surette, FHI 360 The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of improved case management and critical care, and the Government of Nigeria responded with increased investments. The United States Government (USG), through the U.S. Agency for International Development-funded Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC) […]
Nepal’s first Omicron cases identified after genome sequencing support from USAID's EpiC project
Bhagawan Shrestha, Country Director, FHI 360 Nepal Rajesh Khanal, Project Director-EpiC, FHI 360 NepalAndrea Surette, Technical Advisor, FHI 360Saroj Dhakal, Team Leader, COVID-19 ResponseSanjeet Pandit, Laboratory Specialist, FHI 360 Nepal On December 5, 2021, Nepal’s National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) identified the country’s first two cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in patients who […]
Preventing and responding to gender-based violence in the time of COVID-19
Aubrey Weber, Technical Officer, Science Facilitation, FHI 360 Robyn Dayton, Senior Technical Advisor, HIV Division, FHI 360 Each year, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) campaign provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the work being done globally to prevent, respond to, and eliminate acts of GBV. We know that key […]
EpiC project rapidly mobilizes to deliver oxygen to facilities in dire need in Haiti
Andrea Surette, Technical Advisor, FHI 360Rebecca Dirks, Project Manager, FHI 360 Cover Photo: Empty “H” steel oxygen cylinders sit ready for transport to the warehouse in Port-au-Prince to be refilled (Credit: JIT Logistics Transport Company). Today, oxygen is flowing to COVID-19 patients in five facilities in Port-au-Prince and across the South of Haiti. Just days […]
Building confidence to improve COVID-19 vaccine coverage among key populations in Papua New Guinea
Michael Cassell, Senior Technical Advisor, EpiCIgnatius Mogaba, Papua New Guinea Country Representative, FHI 360Simon Nianfop, Social & Behavior Communication Officer, FHI 360Lisa Stevens, Senior Technical Advisor, FHI 360 Cover Photo: A peer outreach worker receives his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine after a sensitization training (Photo Credit: Simon Nianfop, FHI 360/PNG). Public confidence is […]
Young doctor from Bhutan leads the country’s COVID-19 response
Tashi Dendup, EpiC Consultant, Save the Children, BhutanKarma Doma Tshering, Project Manager, Save the Children, BhutanSumita Taneja, Director, Country Programs, FHI 360, India Dr. Ujal Pradhan is a young and enthusiastic anesthesiologist who works in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital (JDWNRH) in Thimphu, Bhutan. When the […]
Going online to support HIV program providers and performance during COVID-19 in the Philippines
Michael Cassell, Senior Technical Advisor, EpiCBettina Kaye Castañeda, Senior Strategic Information Advisor, EpiC PhilippinesJoven Santiago, Social & Behavior Change Communications Technical Advisor, EpiC Philippines With an estimated 16,000 new HIV infections per year—sustained primarily by gaps in HIV service access for men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women—the Philippines is one of […]
Private clinics in Malawi help decongest public health facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic
Gift Kambandanga, Project Manager, EpiC, PSI MalawiPhilip C. Mkandawire, Market Development, Social Franchise & Research, Deputy Chief of Party, PSI MalawiLirica Nishimoto, Technical Officer, EpiC, FHI 360Moses Bateganya, Technical Director, EpiC, FHI 360 With more than 850,000 people living with HIV (PLHIV) on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Malawi, the public health system is under enormous strain to […]