Global Health Security Agenda in Kenya

Posted on August 8, 2017July 19, 2023

I-TECH Kenya’s Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA)-funded programs aim to advance the GHSA goals of preventing , detecting, and responding to disease threats to health security.

For the past 8 years, I-TECH Kenya has had a cooperative agreement with US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to work closely with the Kenya Ministry of Health (MOH) on multiple projects related to health security. The key objectives of these activities are preventing and reducing the likelihood of disease outbreaks, improving the efficiency and accuracy of the detection of communicable diseases, strengthening surveillance capacity and national and county levels for a rapid and effective response, enhancing Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practices to prevent the emergence and spread of pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria.

Prevention

Use IPC practices to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and other microbial threats:

Building capacity for IPC in health care facilities is a critical part of disease outbreak and AMR preparedness and prevention. In Kenya, I-TECH has partners with the CDC National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease and Kenya MOH to support two model hospitals in developing capacity for quality improvement measures for strengthening evidence-based IPC practices, infrastructure, and tools including hand hygiene, waste management, injection safety, surgical site infections, and antimicrobial stewardship. As part of this IPC work, I-TECH created and piloted e-learning modules for IPC. The modules aim to build clinical skills and technical knowledge in infection prevention and control and antimicrobial stewardship among health care workers in low-resource settings, and have now been adopted by WHO.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I-TECH Kenya was able to play a leadership role in the country in assessing and improving facility readiness at the national and local level to handle COVID-19 cases and maintain the health care workforce.
Current IPC activity is focused on surveillance for surgical site infections, an important cause of hospital acquired infections (HAIs).

Disease Prevention through Immunization Program Strengthening:

I-TECH collaborated with the Kenya MOH, CDC Global Health Protection Division, and the CDC Global Immunization Division, to build and roll out an online mobile platform for capturing immunization data at the point of care.

Detection

Laboratory Information Systems Strengthening:

In Kenya, I-TECH collaborated with the MOH and National Public Health Laboratory Services to enhance and strengthen laboratory information systems at the facility and national levels to improve timeliness and efficiency of testing and reporting results, specifically for AMR testing.

Response

Disease Surveillance and Response:

I-TECH supports the Kenya MOH Surveillance Unit in the rollout of trainings for health care workers to routinely and consistently use the real-time surveillance reporting system in Kenya.

Best Practices

To address the UNAIDS Sustainable Development Goals for elimination of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases by 2030, and the PEPFAR 3.0 goals, I-TECH leverages the technical expertise of its universities and partners, the broad experience of its funders, and best practices from 15 years of implementing programs.

Transition & Sustainability

The International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) works in partnership with host country governments, universities, professional associations, non-governmental organizations, private sector groups and funding agencies to strengthen local capacity and build sustainable health systems.

I-TECH follows a partnership model that guides the provision of technical services and technical assistance toward local ownership and sustainability, creating projects and programs that can be readily transitioned into national systems.

Based at the University of Washington, I-TECH draws upon a strong global network of public health professionals. The approach described in this document is customized in each country to respond to local needs and priorities. In addition, each I-TECH country office team aligns the model with the unique Partnership Framework Implementation Plans of the partner host government.

1. IDENTIFY NEEDS in consultation with host country governments

I-TECH works with host country governments to assess existing health systems and identify specific areas where the delivery of health care could be improved. This early collaboration helps to ensure that technical assistance accurately reflects the country’s specific health strategies and priorities.

2. STRUCTURE PARTNERSHIPS that integrate projects into existing systems

In each partnership, I-TECH develops roles, responsibilities, and timelines based on a long-term vision of integrating projects into existing national systems. As part of this vision, I-TECH recognizes and leverages the strengths and resources of national systems, building on and maximizing these efficiencies. The partnerships that emerge are attuned to the needs, realities, and structure of host country systems. Thus, they build and maintain lasting capacity within host country systems, maximize cost-effectiveness, and produce projects that can be more readily scaled up to meet national goals.

3. SECURE TECHNICAL RESOURCES from affiliated universities, partners, and the I-TECH network

As a center based at the University of Washington, I-TECH has direct access to a wide variety of technical specialists. In addition, I-TECH draws upon a robust global network of locally based public health professionals. These specialists provide a wide range of technical expertise to meet project needs.

4. PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND SERVICES tailored to actual needs and resources

I-TECH is committed to technical services and technical assistance approaches that build upon and support the existing strengths of local health systems. In addition, I-TECH prioritizes the use of local and regional expertise, an approach that builds the capacity of local experts to meet locally determined needs.

5. MONITOR PERFORMANCE; evaluate achievement of objectives and measure outcomes

I-TECH implements projects within a quality improvement framework designed to track progress in institutional capacity building and guide successful implementation. Using the framework, implementers monitor the progress of each project against specific benchmarks of success; for example, the progressive transfer of skills and capacity to local institutions. This methodology ensures that objectives are met and provides data to adjust approaches as projects evolve.

6. TRANSITION PROJECT into national systems to ensure sustainability

The ultimate goal of I-TECH’s partnership model is to improve health outcomes by strengthening local capacity and building sustainable health systems. I-TECH’s technical services and technical assistance are tailored from the initial planning stage to produce projects that can be successfully absorbed into national systems within mutually determined and realistic timeframes. Recognizing that a successful transition takes time, I-TECH offers transition support in a variety of technical areas including quality improvement and grant management.

HIV and STI Prevention

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Quality Improvement

I-TECH’s quality improvement approach emphasizes ongoing assessments of program aims and operations. Country projects apply continuous quality improvement (CQI) strategies targeting both programmatic and management activities. Small-scale, practical Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles are used to construct improvement goals, test proposed changes, and implement adjustments, leading to increased quality of operations, service delivery, and care.

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The effective diagnosis, care, and treatment of infectious diseases require a skilled and motivated health care workforce, and sustainable systems to educate and train those workers. I-TECH uses a systemic approach to build the skills and knowledge of, and foster attitude changes in, health care staff and those who train and educate them.

The following model outlines I-TECH’s human resources for health-based approach to achieving comprehensive patient-centered care. Each component of the model, including a strong enabling environment, supports an optimized health workforce as the foundation of an effective service delivery system.

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I-TECH’s distance learning and e-learning projects provide opportunities for health care professionals in resource-limited settings to gain knowledge and skills while minimizing their need to leave the workplace.

I-TECH distance learning projects typically have four goals:

Increase the capacity of health care workers in resource-limited settings to deliver high quality care and treatment while allowing them to remain in their workplaces to provide services at their sites.
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Program Highlights

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Kenya

Since 2005, I-TECH has drawn on expertise from the University of Washington and the University of California, San Francisco, to support the Ministry of Health (MOH) in advancing priorities in the areas of health information systems (HIS), HIS leadership and governance, Global Health Security (GHSA), and evidence-based Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practices.

I-TECH Kenya’s programs aim to improve the quality of patient care and enable health care facilities to meet their health information, data collection, and reporting needs. I-TECH Kenya’s GHSA funded programs aim to advance the Global Health Security Agenda through strengthening information systems and reporting, and improving IPC in health care facilities.

In all efforts, I-TECH Kenya works closely with the MOH and local partners to develop and implement programs that can be successfully transitioned to local ownership, ensuring sustainable progress toward Kenya’s long-term health goals.

Program Highlights

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