Districts (or national): National

ICAP provided technical assistance to the Cameroon Ministry of Public Health to enhance national monitoring and evaluation systems and tools for maternal, newborn, and child health, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, and to build local capacity to collect, analyze, and disseminate high-quality data. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC)

In Kenya, ICAP partnered with the Ministry of Health to:

• Supported the implementation and evaluation of an enhanced service package for HIV-infected adolescent and young pregnant and postnatal women using the group antenatal care model and additional support services at seven health facilities in Nyanza.
• Supported an evaluation on the feasibility and effectiveness of the ECHO telementoring model (Project ECH™).
• Supported the Ministry of Health to design and implement a national strategy for Test and Start service delivery, including community-based ART groups (C-BART).

 

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Find out more on the Global TA Page

ICAP provided technical assistance to strengthen national health information systems, integrated monitoring and evaluation, and data dissemination and use in order to improve access to HIV services. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC).

ICAP has launched a multi-country emergency response training initiative to prepare health care workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 response, funded by Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies. The trainings will build the competence and confidence of frontline health care workers to safely identify, report and support people with COVID-19, implement effective infection prevention and control (IPC) activities, and serve as a trusted source of reliable information for communities impacted by the pandemic.

In collaboration with the Columbia University Earth Institute and the National Institute of Health (INS) , ICAP is conducting a research study to better understand the response of Mozambique’s health care system to climate change and disasters. Through key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and an electronic questionnaire with various stakeholders, ICAP and INS will evaluate the attitudes toward disaster-response health policies on communities in Mozambique, determine the attitudes toward communication strategies pre- and post- climate disaster, identify areas for improvement at policy, community, and facility/structural levels and determine if lessons learned from the devastating 2019 cyclone season informed the response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. This project is funded by Columbia University.

Columbia University’s role in implementing PEPFAR began in 2003, when it received funding from the Global AIDS Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) to support the development of important components of national HIV programs, including treatment protocols and training. In 2004, ICAP was founded and was awarded a new cooperative agreement from CDC under the PEPFAR framework, the Track 1.0 funding mechanism, to provide comprehensive HIV care and treatment in five countries: Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tanzania, with programming in Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, and Nigeria subsequently added. This initiative, the Multicountry Columbia Antiretroviral Program (MCAP), rapidly expanded programs for HIV care and ART by promoting early diagnosis of HIV infection, maintaining the health of those living with HIV, and preventing further transmission of HIV within the community. MCAP programming between 2004 and 2012, in addition to being focused on rapidly scaling up care and treatment in partnership with host-country governments, also emphasized the full continuum of HIV-related services, continued capacity building and health systems strengthening, and transition of operations to host governments and local nongovernmental organizations.

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Find the MCAP End-of-Project Reports here.

ICAP worked with Myanmar’s National AIDS Program from 2014 to 2015 to advance the national HIV strategic plan and improve access to HIV care and treatment. ICAP conducted a baseline HIV situational analysis of ICAP-supported sites and worked with key stakeholders to implement an action plan to expand HIV services and reach key populations. The project was funded by the Open Society Foundations.

Funded by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) emergency International Task Force (ITF) funds, ICAP has launched an Infection Prevention Control (IPC) Community of Practice in East Africa to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through building a robust south-to-south learning network the next twenty-seven months, the project seeks to enhance the capacity of hospital-based IPC Focal Points to support compliance with IPC standards in facilities across the continent. The IPC Community of Practice will include rapid training on COVID-19-related IPC, skills building and mentorship, and supportive supervision for IPC QI projects.

In Malawi, ICAP is conducting a sentinel surveillance activity of COVID-19 in 14 facilities across Malawi, targeting both asymptomatic and symptomatic children (>5 years) and adults. We are also randomly selecting and testing 2000 staff at these 14 health facilities.

 

The HIV Coverage, Quality, and Impact Network (CQUIN) is a multi-country learning network designed to accelerate the implementation of high-quality differentiated service delivery for HIV. CQUIN’s goal is to increase the number of people living with HIV initiating and sustaining highly effective HIV treatment with sustained viral suppression.

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Find out more at cquin.icap.columbia.edu

ICAP is partnering with the Ministry of Health to increase access to comprehensive, quality HIV prevention, care, and treatment services in health zones and facilities throughout Kinshasa and Haut-Katanga provinces. Funded by PEPFAR through the CDC, programming places a special emphasis on improving health outcomes for populations vulnerable to HIV infection—including adolescents, commercial sex workers, and men who have sex with men— through increased service coverage, linkages to care, and quality improvement.

ICAP provides technical assistance (TA) and capacity-building support to the Ministry of Health and Sports’ (MOHS) National AIDS Program (NAP), Drug Dependency Treatment and Research Unit (DDTRU), and the National Health Laboratory (NHL) to build capacity to develop and sustain differentiated service delivery (DSD) models tailored to key populations (KP), people living with HIV, and their sexual partners; support HIV services with effective and quality assured laboratory systems; and strengthen strategic information and surveillance to accelerate progress toward achieving 95-95-95 targets.

ICAP worked with the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, the World Health Organization, and other partners to design a curriculum for a pilot infection prevention and control certificate training program, adapted for the Sierra Leone context. This project was funded by the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) at the CDC.    

The Fleming Fund represents the UK Government’s investment into improving laboratory capacity for diagnosis and surveillance of anti-microbial resistance (AMR) in low-income countries where AMR has a disproportionate impact (the “Fleming Fund”). The Fleming Fund will do this through support to implementation of AMR National Action Plans by making investments in:

• building laboratory capacity;
• collecting drug resistance data;
• enabling the sharing of drug resistance data locally, regionally and internationally;
• collating and analyzing data on the sale and use of antimicrobials medicines, particularly antibiotics;
• advocating the application of these data to promote the rational use of antimicrobials for human health, animal health and agriculture;
• and shaping a sustainable system for AMR surveillance and data sharing.

The Project will use a “One Health” approach which encompasses work in human, animal (agriculture) and environmental health. This approach recognizes that the nature of drug resistant infections and their spread often involved pathogens which spread to and from animals (for example, pigs and poultry) to humans; and that environmental exposure to antimicrobial agents is a key factor in driving the emergence and spread of drug resistant infections.

ICAP at Columbia University is collaborating with Ministry of Health in Tanzania to build the competence and confidence of frontline HCW to safely identify, report and support people with COVID-19, implement effective infection prevention and control (IPC) activities, and serve as a trusted source of reliable information for communities impacted by the pandemic. This project is supported with funding from Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL).

ICAP at Columbia (ICAP) in partnership with CDC’s International Infection Control Program is collaborating with the Ministry of Health in Tanzania to launch a regional community of practice to rapidly enhance IPC at scale. The goal is to reduce morbidity and mortality by preventing COVID-19 and healthcare-associated infections in low-resource settings. The project aims to enhance the capacity of hospital-based IPC Focal Points to support compliance with IPC standards throughout their facilities by using a regional approach. This project is funded by CDC.

Building upon ICAP’s current approach and capacity to support surveillance systems in Zimbabwe. ICAP provides support to the Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) in contact tracing for COVID-19 patients at sub-national level in prioritized provinces to follow up with suspected and confirmed COVID cases for line listing and daily monitoring. Strengthening of databases including procurement of tablets and airtime for data transmission for contact tracing using Open Data Kit (ODK) platform is conducted so that data from contact tracing is sent to the national database. ICAP also supports the MOHCC efforts of harmonizing data sources and flow in data management. In addition, the ICAP team has been supporting community events specifically in the rural areas by convening local government, community leaders, church leaders, chiefs and village heads and village health workers COVID-19 trainings. This project is funded by PEPFAR through the CDC.  

The HIV Coverage, Quality, and Impact Network (CQUIN) is a multi-country learning network designed to accelerate the implementation of high-quality differentiated service delivery for HIV. CQUIN’s goal is to increase the number of people living with HIV initiating and sustaining highly effective HIV treatment with sustained viral suppression.

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Find out more at cquin.icap.columbia.edu

This initiative aimed to address Mozambique’s critical shortage of health care management and administration skills through a unique partnership between the Mailman School of Public Health and the Instituto Superior de Ciências de Saúde (ISCISA), led by ICAP at Columbia University, which resulted in the development of a new launched a four-year undergraduate degree curriculum in Hospital Administration at ISCISA. Subject matter experts from ICAP and the Mailman school ensured that all developed content, course materials, and practica were grounded in the latest health science reseach to ensure enrolled students receive quality training in health management and administration. Additionally, a significant focus throughout the course of the joint-project was placed on mentorship of ISCISA faculty and staff so they were equipped to sustain the program independently beginning in 2019. The initiative was funded by USAID.

The Global Technical Assistance (GTA) Project, funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was an ambitious, six-year project comprising 62 individual projects across 24 PEPFAR and Global Fund-supported countries on four continents.

In Myanmar, ICAP provided technical assistance across a wide range of initiatives including: new policies, guidelines, approaches, and tools to support HIV care and treatment services; an evaluation of the feasibility and effectiveness of the ECHO telementoring model (Project ECHO); key populations sensitivity training for health care workers; an evaluation of patient retention throughout the HIV care continuum; the development of a national service quality monitoring system (SQMS) tool; and the integration of bio-behavioral surveillance survey (IBBS) protocol.

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Find out more on the Global Technical Assistance project page

ICAP helped enhance the quality and impact of HIV, Tuberculosis (TB), and TB/HIV services and data for decision making through quality improvement. ICAP also supported the implementation of a multi-site quality improvement project designed to improve infection prevention and control practices.

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Find out more on the Global Technical Assistance project page

In September 2002, the Mailman School of Public Health (MSPH) at Columbia University (CU) entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) in Support of the Global HIV/AIDS Program. Situated within ICAP, UTAP was originally envisioned as a single-country program for the provision of technical assistance, but rapidly grew to include long-term and short-term technical and administrative assistance to the national responses to HIV/AIDS in five countries: Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. As the original UTAP project drew to a close and PEPFAR moved into its second phase—focused on sustainability—ICAP entered into several, follow-on Cooperative Agreements, called UTAP-2. Four were country-focused (in Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Swaziland, and Tanzania) and the fifth—UTAP-2 Atlanta—became a flexible mechanism for providing a wide range of technical assistance and other support to PEPFAR countries. After beginning in 2009 as a means to help CDC conduct  surveillance training more efficiently through distance education, UTAP-2 Atlanta grew over the next six and a half years to comprise 11 distinct projects addressing needs and gaps in the HIV response and answering important research questions to inform the response going forward.

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Find all UTAP and UTAP-2 resources here.

ICAP is providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Health and Child Care to conduct the second Zimbabwe Population-based HIV Impact Assessment 2020 (ZIMPHIA 2020) survey to assess HIV prevalence, incidence, and access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The first ZIMPHIA survey was conducted in 2016. The ZIMPHIA 2020 survey includes household-based interviews and HIV counseling and testing for individuals 15 years and older. Survey findings will be used to assess the impact of Zimbabwe’s HIV response at the national level, and to help guide and target future investment and programs. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC)

• ZIMPHIA 2016 Summary Sheet
• ZIMPHIA 2016 Final Report 

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Find out more at phia.icap.columbia.edu

ICAP is providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Health to conduct the second Malawi Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (MPHIA) 2020 survey to assess HIV prevalence, incidence, and access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The survey includes household-based interviews, HIV counseling, and HIV testing for individuals 15 years and older. Funded by PEPFAR though CDC, the survey findings will be used to assess the impact of Malawi’s HIV response at the national level and help guide future investments and programming.

The first MPHIA survey was conducted from November 2015-August 2016.

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MPHIA 2015-16 Summary Sheet

MPHIA 2015-16 Final Report

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Find out more at phia.icap.columbia.edu/malawi

From 2015 to 2018, ICAP provided technical support to implement, monitor, and sustain the delivery of high-quality adult and pediatric HIV prevention, care, and treatment in all regions of Ethiopia. During the project period, ICAP supported the development and enhancement of HIV-related national policies and guidelines. Regionally, the project worked to strengthen regional health bureau capacity to manage comprehensive HIV prevention, care and treatment program with local capacity. At the facility level, ICAP’s efforts enabled health care workers to deliver comprehensive and high-quality services to recipients of HIV care. The project was funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), through the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Read the end-of-project report here

The Global Nurse Capacity Building Program (GNCBP) was a multi-year program (2009-2018) to increase the quantity and quality of the nursing and midwifery workforce by addressing seven domains of health workforce development: infrastructure, curriculum, faculty, clinical skills, production, in-service training, and partnership for policy and regulation. GNCBP was administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), under the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, with funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The program used a holistic approach to strengthen nursing and midwifery education and practice through two complementary sub-projects: the Nursing Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI), which expanded the health workforce by producing new nurses and midwives, and the General Nursing (GN) project, which supported the maintenance of a skilled health workforce through continuing professional development in support of HIV care and treatment. In Ethiopia, NEPI enhanced nursing and midwifery education through infrastructure development, curriculum reform, faculty capacity building, and clinical training in partnership with MOH, Addis Ababa University School of Nursing, Arbaminch College of Health Sciences, and the University of Gondar Nursing School. Additionally, the GN promoted continued professional development for trained nurses in partnership with MOH, Ethiopia Nurses Association (ENA), and Ethiopia Midwives Association (EMwA)

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Find the GNCBP final report here

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Find out more about NEPI and General Nursing

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Read the GNCBP in Ethiopia report here

Through the Quality Improvement Capacity for Impact Project (QICIP), ICAP provides ministries of health and local partners with technical assistance that enables them to monitor program performance, identify quality challenges, explore root causes, develop targeted interventions, and conduct rapid, iterative tests of change in programs supported by PEPFAR.

Malawi is taking part in a quality improvement for differentiated service delivery project.

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Find out more on the QICIP Project Page

Through the Quality Improvement Capacity for Impact Project (QICIP), ICAP provides ministries of health and local partners with technical assistance that enables them to analyze and improve health system performance based on appropriate standards of care. Participating countries monitor program performance, identify quality challenges, explore root causes, develop targeted interventions, and conduct rapid, iterative tests of change in programs supported by PEPFAR. In Mozambique, ICAP worked with the Ministry of Health to implement a quality improvement initiative to improve rates of retention on antiretroviral treatment and viral suppression among pregnant women at 30 health facilities in Nampula Province. ICAP also adapted its training for health workers, Introduction to Quality and Quality Improvement, for the Mozambican context. This five-year cooperative agreement is funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Find out more on the QICIP Project Page

Since 2016, the goal of this project is to build the capacity of individuals, institutions, and the overall health system of Zimbabwe, and to develop and maintain a national, evidence-based HIV response using comprehensive, integrated, and accessible SI.

Its specific objectives are to:

A. Enhance the ability of national institutions to plan and coordinate SI activities.

B. Strengthen systems to monitor and evaluate the coverage, quality, and effectiveness of the national HIV response.

C. Improve systems to plan, conduct and implement comprehensive, high-quality surveys and surveillance to quantify and characterize the HIV epidemic, and

D. Strengthen human resources to support country ownership of sustainable SI activities.

Project implementation is driven by the collaborative efforts of ICAP staff based in Zimbabwe country office, staff seconded to the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) and ICAP’s headquarters team in New York working in close coordination with CDC in Zimbabwe and Atlanta.

The scope of work also includes strengthening human resources to support country ownership of sustainable SI activities. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC)

ICAP provided technical assistance to the Cameroon Ministry of Public Health to enhance national monitoring and evaluation systems and tools for maternal, newborn, and child health, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, and to build local capacity to collect, analyze, and disseminate high-quality data. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC)

In September 2002, the Mailman School of Public Health (MSPH) at Columbia University (CU) entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) in Support of the Global HIV/AIDS Program. Situated within ICAP, UTAP was originally envisioned as a single-country program for the provision of technical assistance, but rapidly grew to include long-term and short-term technical and administrative assistance to the national responses to HIV/AIDS in five countries: Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. As the original UTAP project drew to a close and PEPFAR moved into its second phase—focused on sustainability—ICAP entered into several, follow-on Cooperative Agreements, called UTAP-2. Four were country-focused (in Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Swaziland, and Tanzania) and the fifth—UTAP-2 Atlanta—became a flexible mechanism for providing a wide range of technical assistance and other support to PEPFAR countries. After beginning in 2009 as a means to help CDC conduct  surveillance training more efficiently through distance education, UTAP-2 Atlanta grew over the next six and a half years to comprise 11 distinct projects addressing needs and gaps in the HIV response and answering important research questions to inform the response going forward.

---

Find all UTAP and UTAP-2 resources here.

ICAP worked with the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, the World Health Organization, and other partners to design a curriculum for a pilot infection prevention and control certificate training program, adapted for the Sierra Leone context. This project was funded by the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) at the CDC.    

In collaboration with the Columbia University Earth Institute and the National Institute of Health (INS) , ICAP is conducting a research study to better understand the response of Mozambique’s health care system to climate change and disasters. Through key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and an electronic questionnaire with various stakeholders, ICAP and INS will evaluate the attitudes toward disaster-response health policies on communities in Mozambique, determine the attitudes toward communication strategies pre- and post- climate disaster, identify areas for improvement at policy, community, and facility/structural levels and determine if lessons learned from the devastating 2019 cyclone season informed the response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. This project is funded by Columbia University.

Columbia University’s role in implementing PEPFAR began in 2003, when it received funding from the Global AIDS Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) to support the development of important components of national HIV programs, including treatment protocols and training. In 2004, ICAP was founded and was awarded a new cooperative agreement from CDC under the PEPFAR framework, the Track 1.0 funding mechanism, to provide comprehensive HIV care and treatment in five countries: Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tanzania, with programming in Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, and Nigeria subsequently added. This initiative, the Multicountry Columbia Antiretroviral Program (MCAP), rapidly expanded programs for HIV care and ART by promoting early diagnosis of HIV infection, maintaining the health of those living with HIV, and preventing further transmission of HIV within the community. MCAP programming between 2004 and 2012, in addition to being focused on rapidly scaling up care and treatment in partnership with host-country governments, also emphasized the full continuum of HIV-related services, continued capacity building and health systems strengthening, and transition of operations to host governments and local nongovernmental organizations.

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Find the MCAP End-of-Project Reports here.

This initiative aimed to address Mozambique’s critical shortage of health care management and administration skills through a unique partnership between the Mailman School of Public Health and the Instituto Superior de Ciências de Saúde (ISCISA), led by ICAP at Columbia University, which resulted in the development of a new launched a four-year undergraduate degree curriculum in Hospital Administration at ISCISA. Subject matter experts from ICAP and the Mailman school ensured that all developed content, course materials, and practica were grounded in the latest health science reseach to ensure enrolled students receive quality training in health management and administration. Additionally, a significant focus throughout the course of the joint-project was placed on mentorship of ISCISA faculty and staff so they were equipped to sustain the program independently beginning in 2019. The initiative was funded by USAID.

In Kenya, ICAP partnered with the Ministry of Health to:

• Supported the implementation and evaluation of an enhanced service package for HIV-infected adolescent and young pregnant and postnatal women using the group antenatal care model and additional support services at seven health facilities in Nyanza.
• Supported an evaluation on the feasibility and effectiveness of the ECHO telementoring model (Project ECH™).
• Supported the Ministry of Health to design and implement a national strategy for Test and Start service delivery, including community-based ART groups (C-BART).

 

---

Find out more on the Global TA Page

ICAP helped enhance the quality and impact of HIV, Tuberculosis (TB), and TB/HIV services and data for decision making through quality improvement. ICAP also supported the implementation of a multi-site quality improvement project designed to improve infection prevention and control practices.

---

Find out more on the Global Technical Assistance project page

The Global Nurse Capacity Building Program (GNCBP) was a multi-year program (2009-2018) to increase the quantity and quality of the nursing and midwifery workforce by addressing seven domains of health workforce development: infrastructure, curriculum, faculty, clinical skills, production, in-service training, and partnership for policy and regulation. GNCBP was administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), under the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, with funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The program used a holistic approach to strengthen nursing and midwifery education and practice through two complementary sub-projects: the Nursing Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI), which expanded the health workforce by producing new nurses and midwives, and the General Nursing (GN) project, which supported the maintenance of a skilled health workforce through continuing professional development in support of HIV care and treatment. In Ethiopia, NEPI enhanced nursing and midwifery education through infrastructure development, curriculum reform, faculty capacity building, and clinical training in partnership with MOH, Addis Ababa University School of Nursing, Arbaminch College of Health Sciences, and the University of Gondar Nursing School. Additionally, the GN promoted continued professional development for trained nurses in partnership with MOH, Ethiopia Nurses Association (ENA), and Ethiopia Midwives Association (EMwA)

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Find the GNCBP final report here

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Find out more about NEPI and General Nursing

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Read the GNCBP in Ethiopia report here

This initiative aimed to address Mozambique’s critical shortage of health care management and administration skills through a unique partnership between the Mailman School of Public Health and the Instituto Superior de Ciências de Saúde (ISCISA), led by ICAP at Columbia University, which resulted in the development of a new launched a four-year undergraduate degree curriculum in Hospital Administration at ISCISA. Subject matter experts from ICAP and the Mailman school ensured that all developed content, course materials, and practica were grounded in the latest health science reseach to ensure enrolled students receive quality training in health management and administration. Additionally, a significant focus throughout the course of the joint-project was placed on mentorship of ISCISA faculty and staff so they were equipped to sustain the program independently beginning in 2019. The initiative was funded by USAID.

ICAP helped enhance the quality and impact of HIV, Tuberculosis (TB), and TB/HIV services and data for decision making through quality improvement. ICAP also supported the implementation of a multi-site quality improvement project designed to improve infection prevention and control practices.

---

Find out more on the Global Technical Assistance project page

In September 2002, the Mailman School of Public Health (MSPH) at Columbia University (CU) entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) in Support of the Global HIV/AIDS Program. Situated within ICAP, UTAP was originally envisioned as a single-country program for the provision of technical assistance, but rapidly grew to include long-term and short-term technical and administrative assistance to the national responses to HIV/AIDS in five countries: Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. As the original UTAP project drew to a close and PEPFAR moved into its second phase—focused on sustainability—ICAP entered into several, follow-on Cooperative Agreements, called UTAP-2. Four were country-focused (in Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Swaziland, and Tanzania) and the fifth—UTAP-2 Atlanta—became a flexible mechanism for providing a wide range of technical assistance and other support to PEPFAR countries. After beginning in 2009 as a means to help CDC conduct  surveillance training more efficiently through distance education, UTAP-2 Atlanta grew over the next six and a half years to comprise 11 distinct projects addressing needs and gaps in the HIV response and answering important research questions to inform the response going forward.

---

Find all UTAP and UTAP-2 resources here.

The Global Nurse Capacity Building Program (GNCBP) was a multi-year program (2009-2018) to increase the quantity and quality of the nursing and midwifery workforce by addressing seven domains of health workforce development: infrastructure, curriculum, faculty, clinical skills, production, in-service training, and partnership for policy and regulation. GNCBP was administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), under the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, with funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The program used a holistic approach to strengthen nursing and midwifery education and practice through two complementary sub-projects: the Nursing Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI), which expanded the health workforce by producing new nurses and midwives, and the General Nursing (GN) project, which supported the maintenance of a skilled health workforce through continuing professional development in support of HIV care and treatment. In Ethiopia, NEPI enhanced nursing and midwifery education through infrastructure development, curriculum reform, faculty capacity building, and clinical training in partnership with MOH, Addis Ababa University School of Nursing, Arbaminch College of Health Sciences, and the University of Gondar Nursing School. Additionally, the GN promoted continued professional development for trained nurses in partnership with MOH, Ethiopia Nurses Association (ENA), and Ethiopia Midwives Association (EMwA)

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Find the GNCBP final report here

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Find out more about NEPI and General Nursing

---

Read the GNCBP in Ethiopia report here

ICAP provided technical assistance to the Cameroon Ministry of Public Health to enhance national monitoring and evaluation systems and tools for maternal, newborn, and child health, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, and to build local capacity to collect, analyze, and disseminate high-quality data. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC)

In Kenya, ICAP partnered with the Ministry of Health to:

• Supported the implementation and evaluation of an enhanced service package for HIV-infected adolescent and young pregnant and postnatal women using the group antenatal care model and additional support services at seven health facilities in Nyanza.
• Supported an evaluation on the feasibility and effectiveness of the ECHO telementoring model (Project ECH™).
• Supported the Ministry of Health to design and implement a national strategy for Test and Start service delivery, including community-based ART groups (C-BART).

 

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Find out more on the Global TA Page

ICAP worked with the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, the World Health Organization, and other partners to design a curriculum for a pilot infection prevention and control certificate training program, adapted for the Sierra Leone context. This project was funded by the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) at the CDC.    

Columbia University’s role in implementing PEPFAR began in 2003, when it received funding from the Global AIDS Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) to support the development of important components of national HIV programs, including treatment protocols and training. In 2004, ICAP was founded and was awarded a new cooperative agreement from CDC under the PEPFAR framework, the Track 1.0 funding mechanism, to provide comprehensive HIV care and treatment in five countries: Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tanzania, with programming in Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, and Nigeria subsequently added. This initiative, the Multicountry Columbia Antiretroviral Program (MCAP), rapidly expanded programs for HIV care and ART by promoting early diagnosis of HIV infection, maintaining the health of those living with HIV, and preventing further transmission of HIV within the community. MCAP programming between 2004 and 2012, in addition to being focused on rapidly scaling up care and treatment in partnership with host-country governments, also emphasized the full continuum of HIV-related services, continued capacity building and health systems strengthening, and transition of operations to host governments and local nongovernmental organizations.

---

Find the MCAP End-of-Project Reports here.

In collaboration with the Columbia University Earth Institute and the National Institute of Health (INS) , ICAP is conducting a research study to better understand the response of Mozambique’s health care system to climate change and disasters. Through key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and an electronic questionnaire with various stakeholders, ICAP and INS will evaluate the attitudes toward disaster-response health policies on communities in Mozambique, determine the attitudes toward communication strategies pre- and post- climate disaster, identify areas for improvement at policy, community, and facility/structural levels and determine if lessons learned from the devastating 2019 cyclone season informed the response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. This project is funded by Columbia University.

The Global Nurse Capacity Building Program (GNCBP) was a multi-year program (2009-2018) to increase the quantity and quality of the nursing and midwifery workforce by addressing seven domains of health workforce development: infrastructure, curriculum, faculty, clinical skills, production, in-service training, and partnership for policy and regulation. GNCBP was administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), under the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, with funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The program used a holistic approach to strengthen nursing and midwifery education and practice through two complementary sub-projects: the Nursing Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI), which expanded the health workforce by producing new nurses and midwives, and the General Nursing (GN) project, which supported the maintenance of a skilled health workforce through continuing professional development in support of HIV care and treatment. In Ethiopia, NEPI enhanced nursing and midwifery education through infrastructure development, curriculum reform, faculty capacity building, and clinical training in partnership with MOH, Addis Ababa University School of Nursing, Arbaminch College of Health Sciences, and the University of Gondar Nursing School. Additionally, the GN promoted continued professional development for trained nurses in partnership with MOH, Ethiopia Nurses Association (ENA), and Ethiopia Midwives Association (EMwA)

---

Find the GNCBP final report here

---

Find out more about NEPI and General Nursing

---

Read the GNCBP in Ethiopia report here

Columbia University’s role in implementing PEPFAR began in 2003, when it received funding from the Global AIDS Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) to support the development of important components of national HIV programs, including treatment protocols and training. In 2004, ICAP was founded and was awarded a new cooperative agreement from CDC under the PEPFAR framework, the Track 1.0 funding mechanism, to provide comprehensive HIV care and treatment in five countries: Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tanzania, with programming in Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, and Nigeria subsequently added. This initiative, the Multicountry Columbia Antiretroviral Program (MCAP), rapidly expanded programs for HIV care and ART by promoting early diagnosis of HIV infection, maintaining the health of those living with HIV, and preventing further transmission of HIV within the community. MCAP programming between 2004 and 2012, in addition to being focused on rapidly scaling up care and treatment in partnership with host-country governments, also emphasized the full continuum of HIV-related services, continued capacity building and health systems strengthening, and transition of operations to host governments and local nongovernmental organizations.

---

Find the MCAP End-of-Project Reports here.

ICAP worked with the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, the World Health Organization, and other partners to design a curriculum for a pilot infection prevention and control certificate training program, adapted for the Sierra Leone context. This project was funded by the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) at the CDC.    

ICAP helped enhance the quality and impact of HIV, Tuberculosis (TB), and TB/HIV services and data for decision making through quality improvement. ICAP also supported the implementation of a multi-site quality improvement project designed to improve infection prevention and control practices.

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Find out more on the Global Technical Assistance project page

ICAP provided technical assistance to the Cameroon Ministry of Public Health to enhance national monitoring and evaluation systems and tools for maternal, newborn, and child health, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, and to build local capacity to collect, analyze, and disseminate high-quality data. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC)

This initiative aimed to address Mozambique’s critical shortage of health care management and administration skills through a unique partnership between the Mailman School of Public Health and the Instituto Superior de Ciências de Saúde (ISCISA), led by ICAP at Columbia University, which resulted in the development of a new launched a four-year undergraduate degree curriculum in Hospital Administration at ISCISA. Subject matter experts from ICAP and the Mailman school ensured that all developed content, course materials, and practica were grounded in the latest health science reseach to ensure enrolled students receive quality training in health management and administration. Additionally, a significant focus throughout the course of the joint-project was placed on mentorship of ISCISA faculty and staff so they were equipped to sustain the program independently beginning in 2019. The initiative was funded by USAID.

In collaboration with the Columbia University Earth Institute and the National Institute of Health (INS) , ICAP is conducting a research study to better understand the response of Mozambique’s health care system to climate change and disasters. Through key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and an electronic questionnaire with various stakeholders, ICAP and INS will evaluate the attitudes toward disaster-response health policies on communities in Mozambique, determine the attitudes toward communication strategies pre- and post- climate disaster, identify areas for improvement at policy, community, and facility/structural levels and determine if lessons learned from the devastating 2019 cyclone season informed the response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. This project is funded by Columbia University.

In September 2002, the Mailman School of Public Health (MSPH) at Columbia University (CU) entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) in Support of the Global HIV/AIDS Program. Situated within ICAP, UTAP was originally envisioned as a single-country program for the provision of technical assistance, but rapidly grew to include long-term and short-term technical and administrative assistance to the national responses to HIV/AIDS in five countries: Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. As the original UTAP project drew to a close and PEPFAR moved into its second phase—focused on sustainability—ICAP entered into several, follow-on Cooperative Agreements, called UTAP-2. Four were country-focused (in Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Swaziland, and Tanzania) and the fifth—UTAP-2 Atlanta—became a flexible mechanism for providing a wide range of technical assistance and other support to PEPFAR countries. After beginning in 2009 as a means to help CDC conduct  surveillance training more efficiently through distance education, UTAP-2 Atlanta grew over the next six and a half years to comprise 11 distinct projects addressing needs and gaps in the HIV response and answering important research questions to inform the response going forward.

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Find all UTAP and UTAP-2 resources here.

ICAP collaborated with the CUNY School of Public Health, the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at Columbia University, and the Oromia Regional Health Bureau on a study to determine the multi-level factors associated with late antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation in areas of sub-Saharan Africa and Ethiopia where ART is being scaled-up rapidly. ICAP worked to develop general and practical recommendations for clinical-level interventions that would result in earlier ART initiation. The project was funded by NIH.

ICAP is providing technical assistance to the Government of Ethiopia in support of the country’s initiatives to achieve and sustain the HIV epidemic in line with global 95-95-95 goals for epidemic control. Through this project, ICAP is providing direct support to improve the capacity and quality of HIV service programming throughout the health system in Ethiopia. Support is currently being provided to MOH, four maintained regional health bureaus, and at the site-level in Gambella region. The project has aimed to reach optimal program coverage for attaining epidemic control and strengthening the general health system for sustainable epidemic control. The project is being funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and will run from 2018 to 2023.  

ICAP is working in close collaboration with the CDC and the National Institute of Health (INS) to strengthen Mozambique’s national disease surveillance system. ICAP currently supports INS efforts to strengthen infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, coupled with disease surveillance efforts, through the provision of ongoing technical, logistical, and human resource support. A key component of these efforts is the development and implementation of an electronic platform to track reported cases of COVID-19, which has enabled INS and the Mozambique Ministry of Health to respond to the ongoing pandemic with real-time data. ICAP is also strengthening infection prevention and control (IPC) measures in Nampula province in 59 health facilities —including the establishment of pre-triage stations for symptoms screening, handwashing stations at facility entrances and waiting areas, and the dissemination of key messages among the general public for COVID-19 prevention and treatment. ICAP is also providing emergency transportation services to the Provincial Health Management Team, expanding their capacity to transport symptomatic patients from health facilities to a designated isolation center in Nampula City. These efforts are funded through the CARES Act through the CDC.

ICAP, in partnership with Dimagi and the Ministry of Health, piloted the design of a machine learning application to predict which patients are at highest risk of default in Mozambique. View the Mozambique OpCon Report Find out more on the OpCon project page

ICAP partnered with MOH to strengthen HIV rapid testing quality assurance efforts by developing guidelines, indicators, and tools for implementing and monitoring retesting procedures for HIV positive individuals prior to ART initiation. The project was funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), through the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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View the End-of-Learn more on the Global Technical Assistance project page report here

The HIV Coverage, Quality, and Impact Network (CQUIN) is a multi-country learning network designed to accelerate the implementation of high-quality differentiated service delivery for HIV. CQUIN’s goal is to increase the number of people living with HIV initiating and sustaining highly effective HIV treatment with sustained viral suppression. Ethiopia has been a member of CQUIN since 2017. In Ethiopia, ICAP supports MOH and regional health bureaus to implement appointment spacing, a facility-based differentiated care model, for 1,050 sites providing HIV health services across the country.

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Find out more at cquin.icap.columbia.edu  

From 2009-2017, ICAP provided technical assistance to MOH, Ethiopia Public Health Institute, regional health bureaus, and regional reference laboratories to strengthen the capacity of malaria diagnosis and fever case management in Ethiopia. Over this period, the project supported 1,026 health facilities to improve the quality of malaria laboratory diagnosis; malaria/fever case management; linkage between malaria, HIV, and TB diagnostic and treatment services; and research implementation. Between 2009 and 2011, ICAP provided additional technical assistance in disease monitoring to 70 health facilities located in areas greatly impacted by malaria including Oromia, Amhara, Dire Dawa, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples and Tigray regions. During this scale up of activities, ICAP also provided tailored support to MOH, EPHI, and six regional reference laboratories. The project was funded by the President’s Malaria Initiative through USAID.

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View the End-of-Project report here

ICAP is providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Health to conduct the Ethiopia Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (EPHIA) survey to assess HIV prevalence, incidence, and access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The survey includes household-based interviews and HIV counseling and testing for adults and children. The Ethiopia Population Based HIV Impact Assessment (EPHIA), a household-based national survey in urban Ethiopia, was conducted between October 2017 and April 2018 in order to measure the status of Ethiopia’s national response in urban HIV epidemic. EPHIA offered household-based HIV counseling and testing, with the return of results and referral to clinics for those who tested HIV-positive, and collected information about the uptake of HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. This is the first survey to estimate HIV incidence, viral load suppression (VLS), and pediatric prevalence in urban Ethiopia. ICAP provided technical assistance to the Ministry of Health to conduct the Ethiopia Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (EPHIA) survey to assess HIV prevalence, incidence, and access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The survey has estimated the national progress so far made towards achieving the UNAIDS 90-90-90 goals.Survey findings are used to assess the impact of Ethiopia’s HIV response at the national level, and to help guide and target future investment and programs. The project is funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), through the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Find out more at phia.icap.columbia.edu

VACS is a national household survey of children and young adults (aged 13 – 24) to provide national estimates on physical and sexual violence against children in Ethiopia. The survey measures the prevalence and circumstances surrounding emotional, physical, and sexual violence in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. Findings from VACS provide reliable evidence to enable better decision-making around allocation of limited resources to develop, launch, and evaluate violence prevention programs and child protection systems. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has supported the implementation of VACS subproject in Ethiopia  

In close partnership with MOH, ICAP is supporting the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring frontline health workers in Ethiopia are equipped with adequate knowledge, policies, and infrastructure to deliver safe and effective care for patients with COVID-19. Through this project, ICAP is rapidly disseminating training materials; strengthening telemedicine capacity among health facilities; providing technical guidance in infection prevention and control measures designed to the Ethiopian context. The project is funded by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation.  

TRACE aims to establish epidemiological data surveillance systems to monitor the HIV epidemic in real-time—allowing countries to prevent new HIV infections through precise prevention efforts, as well as targeted interventions to improve treatment adherence and retention in HIV care. With funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ICAP is working in collaboration with CDC, ministries of health, and local organizations to roll out rapid HIV recency testing in selected high-burden countries.

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Learn more on the TRACE project page  

With this two-year study, ICAP evaluated the therapeutic effectiveness of drugs currently used in Ethiopia against malaria, arthemeterlumefantrine and chloroquine. The research assessed the safety and efficacy of primaquine when used in combination with the existing treatment protocol. The research helped determine the number of recurrent malaria episodes in patients who receive primaquine compared to those who do not.

The project was funded by Menzies School of Health Research.

In Kenya, ICAP partnered with the Ministry of Health to:

• Supported the implementation and evaluation of an enhanced service package for HIV-infected adolescent and young pregnant and postnatal women using the group antenatal care model and additional support services at seven health facilities in Nyanza.
• Supported an evaluation on the feasibility and effectiveness of the ECHO telementoring model (Project ECH™).
• Supported the Ministry of Health to design and implement a national strategy for Test and Start service delivery, including community-based ART groups (C-BART).

 

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Find out more on the Global TA Page

ICAP provided technical assistance to the Cameroon Ministry of Public Health to enhance national monitoring and evaluation systems and tools for maternal, newborn, and child health, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, and to build local capacity to collect, analyze, and disseminate high-quality data. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC)

In Kenya, ICAP partnered with the Ministry of Health to:

• Supported the implementation and evaluation of an enhanced service package for HIV-infected adolescent and young pregnant and postnatal women using the group antenatal care model and additional support services at seven health facilities in Nyanza.
• Supported an evaluation on the feasibility and effectiveness of the ECHO telementoring model (Project ECH™).
• Supported the Ministry of Health to design and implement a national strategy for Test and Start service delivery, including community-based ART groups (C-BART).

 

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Find out more on the Global TA Page

ICAP provided technical assistance to strengthen national health information systems, integrated monitoring and evaluation, and data dissemination and use in order to improve access to HIV services. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC).

ICAP has launched a multi-country emergency response training initiative to prepare health care workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 response, funded by Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies. The trainings will build the competence and confidence of frontline health care workers to safely identify, report and support people with COVID-19, implement effective infection prevention and control (IPC) activities, and serve as a trusted source of reliable information for communities impacted by the pandemic.

In collaboration with the Columbia University Earth Institute and the National Institute of Health (INS) , ICAP is conducting a research study to better understand the response of Mozambique’s health care system to climate change and disasters. Through key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and an electronic questionnaire with various stakeholders, ICAP and INS will evaluate the attitudes toward disaster-response health policies on communities in Mozambique, determine the attitudes toward communication strategies pre- and post- climate disaster, identify areas for improvement at policy, community, and facility/structural levels and determine if lessons learned from the devastating 2019 cyclone season informed the response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. This project is funded by Columbia University.

Columbia University’s role in implementing PEPFAR began in 2003, when it received funding from the Global AIDS Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) to support the development of important components of national HIV programs, including treatment protocols and training. In 2004, ICAP was founded and was awarded a new cooperative agreement from CDC under the PEPFAR framework, the Track 1.0 funding mechanism, to provide comprehensive HIV care and treatment in five countries: Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tanzania, with programming in Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, and Nigeria subsequently added. This initiative, the Multicountry Columbia Antiretroviral Program (MCAP), rapidly expanded programs for HIV care and ART by promoting early diagnosis of HIV infection, maintaining the health of those living with HIV, and preventing further transmission of HIV within the community. MCAP programming between 2004 and 2012, in addition to being focused on rapidly scaling up care and treatment in partnership with host-country governments, also emphasized the full continuum of HIV-related services, continued capacity building and health systems strengthening, and transition of operations to host governments and local nongovernmental organizations.

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Find the MCAP End-of-Project Reports here.

ICAP worked with Myanmar’s National AIDS Program from 2014 to 2015 to advance the national HIV strategic plan and improve access to HIV care and treatment. ICAP conducted a baseline HIV situational analysis of ICAP-supported sites and worked with key stakeholders to implement an action plan to expand HIV services and reach key populations. The project was funded by the Open Society Foundations.

Funded by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) emergency International Task Force (ITF) funds, ICAP has launched an Infection Prevention Control (IPC) Community of Practice in East Africa to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through building a robust south-to-south learning network the next twenty-seven months, the project seeks to enhance the capacity of hospital-based IPC Focal Points to support compliance with IPC standards in facilities across the continent. The IPC Community of Practice will include rapid training on COVID-19-related IPC, skills building and mentorship, and supportive supervision for IPC QI projects.

In Malawi, ICAP is conducting a sentinel surveillance activity of COVID-19 in 14 facilities across Malawi, targeting both asymptomatic and symptomatic children (>5 years) and adults. We are also randomly selecting and testing 2000 staff at these 14 health facilities.

 

The HIV Coverage, Quality, and Impact Network (CQUIN) is a multi-country learning network designed to accelerate the implementation of high-quality differentiated service delivery for HIV. CQUIN’s goal is to increase the number of people living with HIV initiating and sustaining highly effective HIV treatment with sustained viral suppression.

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Find out more at cquin.icap.columbia.edu

ICAP is partnering with the Ministry of Health to increase access to comprehensive, quality HIV prevention, care, and treatment services in health zones and facilities throughout Kinshasa and Haut-Katanga provinces. Funded by PEPFAR through the CDC, programming places a special emphasis on improving health outcomes for populations vulnerable to HIV infection—including adolescents, commercial sex workers, and men who have sex with men— through increased service coverage, linkages to care, and quality improvement.

ICAP provides technical assistance (TA) and capacity-building support to the Ministry of Health and Sports’ (MOHS) National AIDS Program (NAP), Drug Dependency Treatment and Research Unit (DDTRU), and the National Health Laboratory (NHL) to build capacity to develop and sustain differentiated service delivery (DSD) models tailored to key populations (KP), people living with HIV, and their sexual partners; support HIV services with effective and quality assured laboratory systems; and strengthen strategic information and surveillance to accelerate progress toward achieving 95-95-95 targets.

ICAP worked with the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, the World Health Organization, and other partners to design a curriculum for a pilot infection prevention and control certificate training program, adapted for the Sierra Leone context. This project was funded by the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) at the CDC.    

The Fleming Fund represents the UK Government’s investment into improving laboratory capacity for diagnosis and surveillance of anti-microbial resistance (AMR) in low-income countries where AMR has a disproportionate impact (the “Fleming Fund”). The Fleming Fund will do this through support to implementation of AMR National Action Plans by making investments in:

• building laboratory capacity;
• collecting drug resistance data;
• enabling the sharing of drug resistance data locally, regionally and internationally;
• collating and analyzing data on the sale and use of antimicrobials medicines, particularly antibiotics;
• advocating the application of these data to promote the rational use of antimicrobials for human health, animal health and agriculture;
• and shaping a sustainable system for AMR surveillance and data sharing.

The Project will use a “One Health” approach which encompasses work in human, animal (agriculture) and environmental health. This approach recognizes that the nature of drug resistant infections and their spread often involved pathogens which spread to and from animals (for example, pigs and poultry) to humans; and that environmental exposure to antimicrobial agents is a key factor in driving the emergence and spread of drug resistant infections.

ICAP at Columbia University is collaborating with Ministry of Health in Tanzania to build the competence and confidence of frontline HCW to safely identify, report and support people with COVID-19, implement effective infection prevention and control (IPC) activities, and serve as a trusted source of reliable information for communities impacted by the pandemic. This project is supported with funding from Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL).

ICAP at Columbia (ICAP) in partnership with CDC’s International Infection Control Program is collaborating with the Ministry of Health in Tanzania to launch a regional community of practice to rapidly enhance IPC at scale. The goal is to reduce morbidity and mortality by preventing COVID-19 and healthcare-associated infections in low-resource settings. The project aims to enhance the capacity of hospital-based IPC Focal Points to support compliance with IPC standards throughout their facilities by using a regional approach. This project is funded by CDC.

Building upon ICAP’s current approach and capacity to support surveillance systems in Zimbabwe. ICAP provides support to the Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) in contact tracing for COVID-19 patients at sub-national level in prioritized provinces to follow up with suspected and confirmed COVID cases for line listing and daily monitoring. Strengthening of databases including procurement of tablets and airtime for data transmission for contact tracing using Open Data Kit (ODK) platform is conducted so that data from contact tracing is sent to the national database. ICAP also supports the MOHCC efforts of harmonizing data sources and flow in data management. In addition, the ICAP team has been supporting community events specifically in the rural areas by convening local government, community leaders, church leaders, chiefs and village heads and village health workers COVID-19 trainings. This project is funded by PEPFAR through the CDC.  

The HIV Coverage, Quality, and Impact Network (CQUIN) is a multi-country learning network designed to accelerate the implementation of high-quality differentiated service delivery for HIV. CQUIN’s goal is to increase the number of people living with HIV initiating and sustaining highly effective HIV treatment with sustained viral suppression.

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Find out more at cquin.icap.columbia.edu

This initiative aimed to address Mozambique’s critical shortage of health care management and administration skills through a unique partnership between the Mailman School of Public Health and the Instituto Superior de Ciências de Saúde (ISCISA), led by ICAP at Columbia University, which resulted in the development of a new launched a four-year undergraduate degree curriculum in Hospital Administration at ISCISA. Subject matter experts from ICAP and the Mailman school ensured that all developed content, course materials, and practica were grounded in the latest health science reseach to ensure enrolled students receive quality training in health management and administration. Additionally, a significant focus throughout the course of the joint-project was placed on mentorship of ISCISA faculty and staff so they were equipped to sustain the program independently beginning in 2019. The initiative was funded by USAID.

The Global Technical Assistance (GTA) Project, funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was an ambitious, six-year project comprising 62 individual projects across 24 PEPFAR and Global Fund-supported countries on four continents.

In Myanmar, ICAP provided technical assistance across a wide range of initiatives including: new policies, guidelines, approaches, and tools to support HIV care and treatment services; an evaluation of the feasibility and effectiveness of the ECHO telementoring model (Project ECHO); key populations sensitivity training for health care workers; an evaluation of patient retention throughout the HIV care continuum; the development of a national service quality monitoring system (SQMS) tool; and the integration of bio-behavioral surveillance survey (IBBS) protocol.

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Find out more on the Global Technical Assistance project page

ICAP helped enhance the quality and impact of HIV, Tuberculosis (TB), and TB/HIV services and data for decision making through quality improvement. ICAP also supported the implementation of a multi-site quality improvement project designed to improve infection prevention and control practices.

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Find out more on the Global Technical Assistance project page

In September 2002, the Mailman School of Public Health (MSPH) at Columbia University (CU) entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) in Support of the Global HIV/AIDS Program. Situated within ICAP, UTAP was originally envisioned as a single-country program for the provision of technical assistance, but rapidly grew to include long-term and short-term technical and administrative assistance to the national responses to HIV/AIDS in five countries: Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. As the original UTAP project drew to a close and PEPFAR moved into its second phase—focused on sustainability—ICAP entered into several, follow-on Cooperative Agreements, called UTAP-2. Four were country-focused (in Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Swaziland, and Tanzania) and the fifth—UTAP-2 Atlanta—became a flexible mechanism for providing a wide range of technical assistance and other support to PEPFAR countries. After beginning in 2009 as a means to help CDC conduct  surveillance training more efficiently through distance education, UTAP-2 Atlanta grew over the next six and a half years to comprise 11 distinct projects addressing needs and gaps in the HIV response and answering important research questions to inform the response going forward.

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Find all UTAP and UTAP-2 resources here.

ICAP is providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Health and Child Care to conduct the second Zimbabwe Population-based HIV Impact Assessment 2020 (ZIMPHIA 2020) survey to assess HIV prevalence, incidence, and access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The first ZIMPHIA survey was conducted in 2016. The ZIMPHIA 2020 survey includes household-based interviews and HIV counseling and testing for individuals 15 years and older. Survey findings will be used to assess the impact of Zimbabwe’s HIV response at the national level, and to help guide and target future investment and programs. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC)

• ZIMPHIA 2016 Summary Sheet
• ZIMPHIA 2016 Final Report 

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Find out more at phia.icap.columbia.edu

ICAP is providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Health to conduct the second Malawi Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (MPHIA) 2020 survey to assess HIV prevalence, incidence, and access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The survey includes household-based interviews, HIV counseling, and HIV testing for individuals 15 years and older. Funded by PEPFAR though CDC, the survey findings will be used to assess the impact of Malawi’s HIV response at the national level and help guide future investments and programming.

The first MPHIA survey was conducted from November 2015-August 2016.

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MPHIA 2015-16 Summary Sheet

MPHIA 2015-16 Final Report

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Find out more at phia.icap.columbia.edu/malawi

From 2015 to 2018, ICAP provided technical support to implement, monitor, and sustain the delivery of high-quality adult and pediatric HIV prevention, care, and treatment in all regions of Ethiopia. During the project period, ICAP supported the development and enhancement of HIV-related national policies and guidelines. Regionally, the project worked to strengthen regional health bureau capacity to manage comprehensive HIV prevention, care and treatment program with local capacity. At the facility level, ICAP’s efforts enabled health care workers to deliver comprehensive and high-quality services to recipients of HIV care. The project was funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), through the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Read the end-of-project report here

The Global Nurse Capacity Building Program (GNCBP) was a multi-year program (2009-2018) to increase the quantity and quality of the nursing and midwifery workforce by addressing seven domains of health workforce development: infrastructure, curriculum, faculty, clinical skills, production, in-service training, and partnership for policy and regulation. GNCBP was administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), under the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, with funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The program used a holistic approach to strengthen nursing and midwifery education and practice through two complementary sub-projects: the Nursing Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI), which expanded the health workforce by producing new nurses and midwives, and the General Nursing (GN) project, which supported the maintenance of a skilled health workforce through continuing professional development in support of HIV care and treatment. In Ethiopia, NEPI enhanced nursing and midwifery education through infrastructure development, curriculum reform, faculty capacity building, and clinical training in partnership with MOH, Addis Ababa University School of Nursing, Arbaminch College of Health Sciences, and the University of Gondar Nursing School. Additionally, the GN promoted continued professional development for trained nurses in partnership with MOH, Ethiopia Nurses Association (ENA), and Ethiopia Midwives Association (EMwA)

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Find the GNCBP final report here

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Find out more about NEPI and General Nursing

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Read the GNCBP in Ethiopia report here

Through the Quality Improvement Capacity for Impact Project (QICIP), ICAP provides ministries of health and local partners with technical assistance that enables them to monitor program performance, identify quality challenges, explore root causes, develop targeted interventions, and conduct rapid, iterative tests of change in programs supported by PEPFAR.

Malawi is taking part in a quality improvement for differentiated service delivery project.

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Find out more on the QICIP Project Page

Through the Quality Improvement Capacity for Impact Project (QICIP), ICAP provides ministries of health and local partners with technical assistance that enables them to analyze and improve health system performance based on appropriate standards of care. Participating countries monitor program performance, identify quality challenges, explore root causes, develop targeted interventions, and conduct rapid, iterative tests of change in programs supported by PEPFAR. In Mozambique, ICAP worked with the Ministry of Health to implement a quality improvement initiative to improve rates of retention on antiretroviral treatment and viral suppression among pregnant women at 30 health facilities in Nampula Province. ICAP also adapted its training for health workers, Introduction to Quality and Quality Improvement, for the Mozambican context. This five-year cooperative agreement is funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Find out more on the QICIP Project Page

Since 2016, the goal of this project is to build the capacity of individuals, institutions, and the overall health system of Zimbabwe, and to develop and maintain a national, evidence-based HIV response using comprehensive, integrated, and accessible SI.

Its specific objectives are to:

A. Enhance the ability of national institutions to plan and coordinate SI activities.

B. Strengthen systems to monitor and evaluate the coverage, quality, and effectiveness of the national HIV response.

C. Improve systems to plan, conduct and implement comprehensive, high-quality surveys and surveillance to quantify and characterize the HIV epidemic, and

D. Strengthen human resources to support country ownership of sustainable SI activities.

Project implementation is driven by the collaborative efforts of ICAP staff based in Zimbabwe country office, staff seconded to the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) and ICAP’s headquarters team in New York working in close coordination with CDC in Zimbabwe and Atlanta.

The scope of work also includes strengthening human resources to support country ownership of sustainable SI activities. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC)

ICAP provided technical assistance to the Cameroon Ministry of Public Health to enhance national monitoring and evaluation systems and tools for maternal, newborn, and child health, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, and to build local capacity to collect, analyze, and disseminate high-quality data. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC)

In September 2002, the Mailman School of Public Health (MSPH) at Columbia University (CU) entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) in Support of the Global HIV/AIDS Program. Situated within ICAP, UTAP was originally envisioned as a single-country program for the provision of technical assistance, but rapidly grew to include long-term and short-term technical and administrative assistance to the national responses to HIV/AIDS in five countries: Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. As the original UTAP project drew to a close and PEPFAR moved into its second phase—focused on sustainability—ICAP entered into several, follow-on Cooperative Agreements, called UTAP-2. Four were country-focused (in Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Swaziland, and Tanzania) and the fifth—UTAP-2 Atlanta—became a flexible mechanism for providing a wide range of technical assistance and other support to PEPFAR countries. After beginning in 2009 as a means to help CDC conduct  surveillance training more efficiently through distance education, UTAP-2 Atlanta grew over the next six and a half years to comprise 11 distinct projects addressing needs and gaps in the HIV response and answering important research questions to inform the response going forward.

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Find all UTAP and UTAP-2 resources here.

ICAP worked with the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, the World Health Organization, and other partners to design a curriculum for a pilot infection prevention and control certificate training program, adapted for the Sierra Leone context. This project was funded by the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) at the CDC.    

In collaboration with the Columbia University Earth Institute and the National Institute of Health (INS) , ICAP is conducting a research study to better understand the response of Mozambique’s health care system to climate change and disasters. Through key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and an electronic questionnaire with various stakeholders, ICAP and INS will evaluate the attitudes toward disaster-response health policies on communities in Mozambique, determine the attitudes toward communication strategies pre- and post- climate disaster, identify areas for improvement at policy, community, and facility/structural levels and determine if lessons learned from the devastating 2019 cyclone season informed the response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. This project is funded by Columbia University.

Columbia University’s role in implementing PEPFAR began in 2003, when it received funding from the Global AIDS Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) to support the development of important components of national HIV programs, including treatment protocols and training. In 2004, ICAP was founded and was awarded a new cooperative agreement from CDC under the PEPFAR framework, the Track 1.0 funding mechanism, to provide comprehensive HIV care and treatment in five countries: Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tanzania, with programming in Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, and Nigeria subsequently added. This initiative, the Multicountry Columbia Antiretroviral Program (MCAP), rapidly expanded programs for HIV care and ART by promoting early diagnosis of HIV infection, maintaining the health of those living with HIV, and preventing further transmission of HIV within the community. MCAP programming between 2004 and 2012, in addition to being focused on rapidly scaling up care and treatment in partnership with host-country governments, also emphasized the full continuum of HIV-related services, continued capacity building and health systems strengthening, and transition of operations to host governments and local nongovernmental organizations.

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Find the MCAP End-of-Project Reports here.

This initiative aimed to address Mozambique’s critical shortage of health care management and administration skills through a unique partnership between the Mailman School of Public Health and the Instituto Superior de Ciências de Saúde (ISCISA), led by ICAP at Columbia University, which resulted in the development of a new launched a four-year undergraduate degree curriculum in Hospital Administration at ISCISA. Subject matter experts from ICAP and the Mailman school ensured that all developed content, course materials, and practica were grounded in the latest health science reseach to ensure enrolled students receive quality training in health management and administration. Additionally, a significant focus throughout the course of the joint-project was placed on mentorship of ISCISA faculty and staff so they were equipped to sustain the program independently beginning in 2019. The initiative was funded by USAID.

In Kenya, ICAP partnered with the Ministry of Health to:

• Supported the implementation and evaluation of an enhanced service package for HIV-infected adolescent and young pregnant and postnatal women using the group antenatal care model and additional support services at seven health facilities in Nyanza.
• Supported an evaluation on the feasibility and effectiveness of the ECHO telementoring model (Project ECH™).
• Supported the Ministry of Health to design and implement a national strategy for Test and Start service delivery, including community-based ART groups (C-BART).

 

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Find out more on the Global TA Page

ICAP helped enhance the quality and impact of HIV, Tuberculosis (TB), and TB/HIV services and data for decision making through quality improvement. ICAP also supported the implementation of a multi-site quality improvement project designed to improve infection prevention and control practices.

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Find out more on the Global Technical Assistance project page

The Global Nurse Capacity Building Program (GNCBP) was a multi-year program (2009-2018) to increase the quantity and quality of the nursing and midwifery workforce by addressing seven domains of health workforce development: infrastructure, curriculum, faculty, clinical skills, production, in-service training, and partnership for policy and regulation. GNCBP was administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), under the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, with funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The program used a holistic approach to strengthen nursing and midwifery education and practice through two complementary sub-projects: the Nursing Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI), which expanded the health workforce by producing new nurses and midwives, and the General Nursing (GN) project, which supported the maintenance of a skilled health workforce through continuing professional development in support of HIV care and treatment. In Ethiopia, NEPI enhanced nursing and midwifery education through infrastructure development, curriculum reform, faculty capacity building, and clinical training in partnership with MOH, Addis Ababa University School of Nursing, Arbaminch College of Health Sciences, and the University of Gondar Nursing School. Additionally, the GN promoted continued professional development for trained nurses in partnership with MOH, Ethiopia Nurses Association (ENA), and Ethiopia Midwives Association (EMwA)

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Find the GNCBP final report here

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Find out more about NEPI and General Nursing

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Read the GNCBP in Ethiopia report here

This initiative aimed to address Mozambique’s critical shortage of health care management and administration skills through a unique partnership between the Mailman School of Public Health and the Instituto Superior de Ciências de Saúde (ISCISA), led by ICAP at Columbia University, which resulted in the development of a new launched a four-year undergraduate degree curriculum in Hospital Administration at ISCISA. Subject matter experts from ICAP and the Mailman school ensured that all developed content, course materials, and practica were grounded in the latest health science reseach to ensure enrolled students receive quality training in health management and administration. Additionally, a significant focus throughout the course of the joint-project was placed on mentorship of ISCISA faculty and staff so they were equipped to sustain the program independently beginning in 2019. The initiative was funded by USAID.

ICAP helped enhance the quality and impact of HIV, Tuberculosis (TB), and TB/HIV services and data for decision making through quality improvement. ICAP also supported the implementation of a multi-site quality improvement project designed to improve infection prevention and control practices.

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Find out more on the Global Technical Assistance project page

In September 2002, the Mailman School of Public Health (MSPH) at Columbia University (CU) entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) in Support of the Global HIV/AIDS Program. Situated within ICAP, UTAP was originally envisioned as a single-country program for the provision of technical assistance, but rapidly grew to include long-term and short-term technical and administrative assistance to the national responses to HIV/AIDS in five countries: Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. As the original UTAP project drew to a close and PEPFAR moved into its second phase—focused on sustainability—ICAP entered into several, follow-on Cooperative Agreements, called UTAP-2. Four were country-focused (in Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Swaziland, and Tanzania) and the fifth—UTAP-2 Atlanta—became a flexible mechanism for providing a wide range of technical assistance and other support to PEPFAR countries. After beginning in 2009 as a means to help CDC conduct  surveillance training more efficiently through distance education, UTAP-2 Atlanta grew over the next six and a half years to comprise 11 distinct projects addressing needs and gaps in the HIV response and answering important research questions to inform the response going forward.

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Find all UTAP and UTAP-2 resources here.

The Global Nurse Capacity Building Program (GNCBP) was a multi-year program (2009-2018) to increase the quantity and quality of the nursing and midwifery workforce by addressing seven domains of health workforce development: infrastructure, curriculum, faculty, clinical skills, production, in-service training, and partnership for policy and regulation. GNCBP was administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), under the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, with funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The program used a holistic approach to strengthen nursing and midwifery education and practice through two complementary sub-projects: the Nursing Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI), which expanded the health workforce by producing new nurses and midwives, and the General Nursing (GN) project, which supported the maintenance of a skilled health workforce through continuing professional development in support of HIV care and treatment. In Ethiopia, NEPI enhanced nursing and midwifery education through infrastructure development, curriculum reform, faculty capacity building, and clinical training in partnership with MOH, Addis Ababa University School of Nursing, Arbaminch College of Health Sciences, and the University of Gondar Nursing School. Additionally, the GN promoted continued professional development for trained nurses in partnership with MOH, Ethiopia Nurses Association (ENA), and Ethiopia Midwives Association (EMwA)

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Find the GNCBP final report here

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Find out more about NEPI and General Nursing

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Read the GNCBP in Ethiopia report here

ICAP provided technical assistance to the Cameroon Ministry of Public Health to enhance national monitoring and evaluation systems and tools for maternal, newborn, and child health, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, and to build local capacity to collect, analyze, and disseminate high-quality data. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC)

In Kenya, ICAP partnered with the Ministry of Health to:

• Supported the implementation and evaluation of an enhanced service package for HIV-infected adolescent and young pregnant and postnatal women using the group antenatal care model and additional support services at seven health facilities in Nyanza.
• Supported an evaluation on the feasibility and effectiveness of the ECHO telementoring model (Project ECH™).
• Supported the Ministry of Health to design and implement a national strategy for Test and Start service delivery, including community-based ART groups (C-BART).

 

---

Find out more on the Global TA Page

ICAP worked with the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, the World Health Organization, and other partners to design a curriculum for a pilot infection prevention and control certificate training program, adapted for the Sierra Leone context. This project was funded by the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) at the CDC.    

Columbia University’s role in implementing PEPFAR began in 2003, when it received funding from the Global AIDS Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) to support the development of important components of national HIV programs, including treatment protocols and training. In 2004, ICAP was founded and was awarded a new cooperative agreement from CDC under the PEPFAR framework, the Track 1.0 funding mechanism, to provide comprehensive HIV care and treatment in five countries: Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tanzania, with programming in Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, and Nigeria subsequently added. This initiative, the Multicountry Columbia Antiretroviral Program (MCAP), rapidly expanded programs for HIV care and ART by promoting early diagnosis of HIV infection, maintaining the health of those living with HIV, and preventing further transmission of HIV within the community. MCAP programming between 2004 and 2012, in addition to being focused on rapidly scaling up care and treatment in partnership with host-country governments, also emphasized the full continuum of HIV-related services, continued capacity building and health systems strengthening, and transition of operations to host governments and local nongovernmental organizations.

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Find the MCAP End-of-Project Reports here.

In collaboration with the Columbia University Earth Institute and the National Institute of Health (INS) , ICAP is conducting a research study to better understand the response of Mozambique’s health care system to climate change and disasters. Through key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and an electronic questionnaire with various stakeholders, ICAP and INS will evaluate the attitudes toward disaster-response health policies on communities in Mozambique, determine the attitudes toward communication strategies pre- and post- climate disaster, identify areas for improvement at policy, community, and facility/structural levels and determine if lessons learned from the devastating 2019 cyclone season informed the response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. This project is funded by Columbia University.

The Global Nurse Capacity Building Program (GNCBP) was a multi-year program (2009-2018) to increase the quantity and quality of the nursing and midwifery workforce by addressing seven domains of health workforce development: infrastructure, curriculum, faculty, clinical skills, production, in-service training, and partnership for policy and regulation. GNCBP was administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), under the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, with funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The program used a holistic approach to strengthen nursing and midwifery education and practice through two complementary sub-projects: the Nursing Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI), which expanded the health workforce by producing new nurses and midwives, and the General Nursing (GN) project, which supported the maintenance of a skilled health workforce through continuing professional development in support of HIV care and treatment. In Ethiopia, NEPI enhanced nursing and midwifery education through infrastructure development, curriculum reform, faculty capacity building, and clinical training in partnership with MOH, Addis Ababa University School of Nursing, Arbaminch College of Health Sciences, and the University of Gondar Nursing School. Additionally, the GN promoted continued professional development for trained nurses in partnership with MOH, Ethiopia Nurses Association (ENA), and Ethiopia Midwives Association (EMwA)

---

Find the GNCBP final report here

---

Find out more about NEPI and General Nursing

---

Read the GNCBP in Ethiopia report here

Columbia University’s role in implementing PEPFAR began in 2003, when it received funding from the Global AIDS Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) to support the development of important components of national HIV programs, including treatment protocols and training. In 2004, ICAP was founded and was awarded a new cooperative agreement from CDC under the PEPFAR framework, the Track 1.0 funding mechanism, to provide comprehensive HIV care and treatment in five countries: Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tanzania, with programming in Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, and Nigeria subsequently added. This initiative, the Multicountry Columbia Antiretroviral Program (MCAP), rapidly expanded programs for HIV care and ART by promoting early diagnosis of HIV infection, maintaining the health of those living with HIV, and preventing further transmission of HIV within the community. MCAP programming between 2004 and 2012, in addition to being focused on rapidly scaling up care and treatment in partnership with host-country governments, also emphasized the full continuum of HIV-related services, continued capacity building and health systems strengthening, and transition of operations to host governments and local nongovernmental organizations.

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Find the MCAP End-of-Project Reports here.

ICAP worked with the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, the World Health Organization, and other partners to design a curriculum for a pilot infection prevention and control certificate training program, adapted for the Sierra Leone context. This project was funded by the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) at the CDC.    

ICAP helped enhance the quality and impact of HIV, Tuberculosis (TB), and TB/HIV services and data for decision making through quality improvement. ICAP also supported the implementation of a multi-site quality improvement project designed to improve infection prevention and control practices.

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Find out more on the Global Technical Assistance project page

ICAP provided technical assistance to the Cameroon Ministry of Public Health to enhance national monitoring and evaluation systems and tools for maternal, newborn, and child health, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, and to build local capacity to collect, analyze, and disseminate high-quality data. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC)

This initiative aimed to address Mozambique’s critical shortage of health care management and administration skills through a unique partnership between the Mailman School of Public Health and the Instituto Superior de Ciências de Saúde (ISCISA), led by ICAP at Columbia University, which resulted in the development of a new launched a four-year undergraduate degree curriculum in Hospital Administration at ISCISA. Subject matter experts from ICAP and the Mailman school ensured that all developed content, course materials, and practica were grounded in the latest health science reseach to ensure enrolled students receive quality training in health management and administration. Additionally, a significant focus throughout the course of the joint-project was placed on mentorship of ISCISA faculty and staff so they were equipped to sustain the program independently beginning in 2019. The initiative was funded by USAID.

In collaboration with the Columbia University Earth Institute and the National Institute of Health (INS) , ICAP is conducting a research study to better understand the response of Mozambique’s health care system to climate change and disasters. Through key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and an electronic questionnaire with various stakeholders, ICAP and INS will evaluate the attitudes toward disaster-response health policies on communities in Mozambique, determine the attitudes toward communication strategies pre- and post- climate disaster, identify areas for improvement at policy, community, and facility/structural levels and determine if lessons learned from the devastating 2019 cyclone season informed the response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. This project is funded by Columbia University.

In September 2002, the Mailman School of Public Health (MSPH) at Columbia University (CU) entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) in Support of the Global HIV/AIDS Program. Situated within ICAP, UTAP was originally envisioned as a single-country program for the provision of technical assistance, but rapidly grew to include long-term and short-term technical and administrative assistance to the national responses to HIV/AIDS in five countries: Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. As the original UTAP project drew to a close and PEPFAR moved into its second phase—focused on sustainability—ICAP entered into several, follow-on Cooperative Agreements, called UTAP-2. Four were country-focused (in Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Swaziland, and Tanzania) and the fifth—UTAP-2 Atlanta—became a flexible mechanism for providing a wide range of technical assistance and other support to PEPFAR countries. After beginning in 2009 as a means to help CDC conduct  surveillance training more efficiently through distance education, UTAP-2 Atlanta grew over the next six and a half years to comprise 11 distinct projects addressing needs and gaps in the HIV response and answering important research questions to inform the response going forward.

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Find all UTAP and UTAP-2 resources here.

ICAP collaborated with the CUNY School of Public Health, the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at Columbia University, and the Oromia Regional Health Bureau on a study to determine the multi-level factors associated with late antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation in areas of sub-Saharan Africa and Ethiopia where ART is being scaled-up rapidly. ICAP worked to develop general and practical recommendations for clinical-level interventions that would result in earlier ART initiation. The project was funded by NIH.

ICAP is providing technical assistance to the Government of Ethiopia in support of the country’s initiatives to achieve and sustain the HIV epidemic in line with global 95-95-95 goals for epidemic control. Through this project, ICAP is providing direct support to improve the capacity and quality of HIV service programming throughout the health system in Ethiopia. Support is currently being provided to MOH, four maintained regional health bureaus, and at the site-level in Gambella region. The project has aimed to reach optimal program coverage for attaining epidemic control and strengthening the general health system for sustainable epidemic control. The project is being funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and will run from 2018 to 2023.  

ICAP is working in close collaboration with the CDC and the National Institute of Health (INS) to strengthen Mozambique’s national disease surveillance system. ICAP currently supports INS efforts to strengthen infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, coupled with disease surveillance efforts, through the provision of ongoing technical, logistical, and human resource support. A key component of these efforts is the development and implementation of an electronic platform to track reported cases of COVID-19, which has enabled INS and the Mozambique Ministry of Health to respond to the ongoing pandemic with real-time data. ICAP is also strengthening infection prevention and control (IPC) measures in Nampula province in 59 health facilities —including the establishment of pre-triage stations for symptoms screening, handwashing stations at facility entrances and waiting areas, and the dissemination of key messages among the general public for COVID-19 prevention and treatment. ICAP is also providing emergency transportation services to the Provincial Health Management Team, expanding their capacity to transport symptomatic patients from health facilities to a designated isolation center in Nampula City. These efforts are funded through the CARES Act through the CDC.

ICAP, in partnership with Dimagi and the Ministry of Health, piloted the design of a machine learning application to predict which patients are at highest risk of default in Mozambique. View the Mozambique OpCon Report Find out more on the OpCon project page

ICAP partnered with MOH to strengthen HIV rapid testing quality assurance efforts by developing guidelines, indicators, and tools for implementing and monitoring retesting procedures for HIV positive individuals prior to ART initiation. The project was funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), through the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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View the End-of-Learn more on the Global Technical Assistance project page report here

The HIV Coverage, Quality, and Impact Network (CQUIN) is a multi-country learning network designed to accelerate the implementation of high-quality differentiated service delivery for HIV. CQUIN’s goal is to increase the number of people living with HIV initiating and sustaining highly effective HIV treatment with sustained viral suppression. Ethiopia has been a member of CQUIN since 2017. In Ethiopia, ICAP supports MOH and regional health bureaus to implement appointment spacing, a facility-based differentiated care model, for 1,050 sites providing HIV health services across the country.

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Find out more at cquin.icap.columbia.edu  

From 2009-2017, ICAP provided technical assistance to MOH, Ethiopia Public Health Institute, regional health bureaus, and regional reference laboratories to strengthen the capacity of malaria diagnosis and fever case management in Ethiopia. Over this period, the project supported 1,026 health facilities to improve the quality of malaria laboratory diagnosis; malaria/fever case management; linkage between malaria, HIV, and TB diagnostic and treatment services; and research implementation. Between 2009 and 2011, ICAP provided additional technical assistance in disease monitoring to 70 health facilities located in areas greatly impacted by malaria including Oromia, Amhara, Dire Dawa, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples and Tigray regions. During this scale up of activities, ICAP also provided tailored support to MOH, EPHI, and six regional reference laboratories. The project was funded by the President’s Malaria Initiative through USAID.

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View the End-of-Project report here

ICAP is providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Health to conduct the Ethiopia Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (EPHIA) survey to assess HIV prevalence, incidence, and access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The survey includes household-based interviews and HIV counseling and testing for adults and children. The Ethiopia Population Based HIV Impact Assessment (EPHIA), a household-based national survey in urban Ethiopia, was conducted between October 2017 and April 2018 in order to measure the status of Ethiopia’s national response in urban HIV epidemic. EPHIA offered household-based HIV counseling and testing, with the return of results and referral to clinics for those who tested HIV-positive, and collected information about the uptake of HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. This is the first survey to estimate HIV incidence, viral load suppression (VLS), and pediatric prevalence in urban Ethiopia. ICAP provided technical assistance to the Ministry of Health to conduct the Ethiopia Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (EPHIA) survey to assess HIV prevalence, incidence, and access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The survey has estimated the national progress so far made towards achieving the UNAIDS 90-90-90 goals.Survey findings are used to assess the impact of Ethiopia’s HIV response at the national level, and to help guide and target future investment and programs. The project is funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), through the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Find out more at phia.icap.columbia.edu

VACS is a national household survey of children and young adults (aged 13 – 24) to provide national estimates on physical and sexual violence against children in Ethiopia. The survey measures the prevalence and circumstances surrounding emotional, physical, and sexual violence in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. Findings from VACS provide reliable evidence to enable better decision-making around allocation of limited resources to develop, launch, and evaluate violence prevention programs and child protection systems. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has supported the implementation of VACS subproject in Ethiopia  

In close partnership with MOH, ICAP is supporting the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring frontline health workers in Ethiopia are equipped with adequate knowledge, policies, and infrastructure to deliver safe and effective care for patients with COVID-19. Through this project, ICAP is rapidly disseminating training materials; strengthening telemedicine capacity among health facilities; providing technical guidance in infection prevention and control measures designed to the Ethiopian context. The project is funded by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation.  

TRACE aims to establish epidemiological data surveillance systems to monitor the HIV epidemic in real-time—allowing countries to prevent new HIV infections through precise prevention efforts, as well as targeted interventions to improve treatment adherence and retention in HIV care. With funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ICAP is working in collaboration with CDC, ministries of health, and local organizations to roll out rapid HIV recency testing in selected high-burden countries.

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Learn more on the TRACE project page  

With this two-year study, ICAP evaluated the therapeutic effectiveness of drugs currently used in Ethiopia against malaria, arthemeterlumefantrine and chloroquine. The research assessed the safety and efficacy of primaquine when used in combination with the existing treatment protocol. The research helped determine the number of recurrent malaria episodes in patients who receive primaquine compared to those who do not.

The project was funded by Menzies School of Health Research.

In Kenya, ICAP partnered with the Ministry of Health to:

• Supported the implementation and evaluation of an enhanced service package for HIV-infected adolescent and young pregnant and postnatal women using the group antenatal care model and additional support services at seven health facilities in Nyanza.
• Supported an evaluation on the feasibility and effectiveness of the ECHO telementoring model (Project ECH™).
• Supported the Ministry of Health to design and implement a national strategy for Test and Start service delivery, including community-based ART groups (C-BART).

 

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Find out more on the Global TA Page

ICAP provided technical assistance to the Cameroon Ministry of Public Health to enhance national monitoring and evaluation systems and tools for maternal, newborn, and child health, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, and to build local capacity to collect, analyze, and disseminate high-quality data. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC)

In Kenya, ICAP partnered with the Ministry of Health to:

• Supported the implementation and evaluation of an enhanced service package for HIV-infected adolescent and young pregnant and postnatal women using the group antenatal care model and additional support services at seven health facilities in Nyanza.
• Supported an evaluation on the feasibility and effectiveness of the ECHO telementoring model (Project ECH™).
• Supported the Ministry of Health to design and implement a national strategy for Test and Start service delivery, including community-based ART groups (C-BART).

 

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Find out more on the Global TA Page

ICAP provided technical assistance to strengthen national health information systems, integrated monitoring and evaluation, and data dissemination and use in order to improve access to HIV services. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC).

ICAP has launched a multi-country emergency response training initiative to prepare health care workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 response, funded by Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies. The trainings will build the competence and confidence of frontline health care workers to safely identify, report and support people with COVID-19, implement effective infection prevention and control (IPC) activities, and serve as a trusted source of reliable information for communities impacted by the pandemic.

In collaboration with the Columbia University Earth Institute and the National Institute of Health (INS) , ICAP is conducting a research study to better understand the response of Mozambique’s health care system to climate change and disasters. Through key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and an electronic questionnaire with various stakeholders, ICAP and INS will evaluate the attitudes toward disaster-response health policies on communities in Mozambique, determine the attitudes toward communication strategies pre- and post- climate disaster, identify areas for improvement at policy, community, and facility/structural levels and determine if lessons learned from the devastating 2019 cyclone season informed the response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. This project is funded by Columbia University.

Columbia University’s role in implementing PEPFAR began in 2003, when it received funding from the Global AIDS Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) to support the development of important components of national HIV programs, including treatment protocols and training. In 2004, ICAP was founded and was awarded a new cooperative agreement from CDC under the PEPFAR framework, the Track 1.0 funding mechanism, to provide comprehensive HIV care and treatment in five countries: Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tanzania, with programming in Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, and Nigeria subsequently added. This initiative, the Multicountry Columbia Antiretroviral Program (MCAP), rapidly expanded programs for HIV care and ART by promoting early diagnosis of HIV infection, maintaining the health of those living with HIV, and preventing further transmission of HIV within the community. MCAP programming between 2004 and 2012, in addition to being focused on rapidly scaling up care and treatment in partnership with host-country governments, also emphasized the full continuum of HIV-related services, continued capacity building and health systems strengthening, and transition of operations to host governments and local nongovernmental organizations.

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Find the MCAP End-of-Project Reports here.

ICAP worked with Myanmar’s National AIDS Program from 2014 to 2015 to advance the national HIV strategic plan and improve access to HIV care and treatment. ICAP conducted a baseline HIV situational analysis of ICAP-supported sites and worked with key stakeholders to implement an action plan to expand HIV services and reach key populations. The project was funded by the Open Society Foundations.

Funded by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) emergency International Task Force (ITF) funds, ICAP has launched an Infection Prevention Control (IPC) Community of Practice in East Africa to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through building a robust south-to-south learning network the next twenty-seven months, the project seeks to enhance the capacity of hospital-based IPC Focal Points to support compliance with IPC standards in facilities across the continent. The IPC Community of Practice will include rapid training on COVID-19-related IPC, skills building and mentorship, and supportive supervision for IPC QI projects.

In Malawi, ICAP is conducting a sentinel surveillance activity of COVID-19 in 14 facilities across Malawi, targeting both asymptomatic and symptomatic children (>5 years) and adults. We are also randomly selecting and testing 2000 staff at these 14 health facilities.

 

The HIV Coverage, Quality, and Impact Network (CQUIN) is a multi-country learning network designed to accelerate the implementation of high-quality differentiated service delivery for HIV. CQUIN’s goal is to increase the number of people living with HIV initiating and sustaining highly effective HIV treatment with sustained viral suppression.

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Find out more at cquin.icap.columbia.edu

ICAP is partnering with the Ministry of Health to increase access to comprehensive, quality HIV prevention, care, and treatment services in health zones and facilities throughout Kinshasa and Haut-Katanga provinces. Funded by PEPFAR through the CDC, programming places a special emphasis on improving health outcomes for populations vulnerable to HIV infection—including adolescents, commercial sex workers, and men who have sex with men— through increased service coverage, linkages to care, and quality improvement.

ICAP provides technical assistance (TA) and capacity-building support to the Ministry of Health and Sports’ (MOHS) National AIDS Program (NAP), Drug Dependency Treatment and Research Unit (DDTRU), and the National Health Laboratory (NHL) to build capacity to develop and sustain differentiated service delivery (DSD) models tailored to key populations (KP), people living with HIV, and their sexual partners; support HIV services with effective and quality assured laboratory systems; and strengthen strategic information and surveillance to accelerate progress toward achieving 95-95-95 targets.

ICAP worked with the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, the World Health Organization, and other partners to design a curriculum for a pilot infection prevention and control certificate training program, adapted for the Sierra Leone context. This project was funded by the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) at the CDC.    

The Fleming Fund represents the UK Government’s investment into improving laboratory capacity for diagnosis and surveillance of anti-microbial resistance (AMR) in low-income countries where AMR has a disproportionate impact (the “Fleming Fund”). The Fleming Fund will do this through support to implementation of AMR National Action Plans by making investments in:

• building laboratory capacity;
• collecting drug resistance data;
• enabling the sharing of drug resistance data locally, regionally and internationally;
• collating and analyzing data on the sale and use of antimicrobials medicines, particularly antibiotics;
• advocating the application of these data to promote the rational use of antimicrobials for human health, animal health and agriculture;
• and shaping a sustainable system for AMR surveillance and data sharing.

The Project will use a “One Health” approach which encompasses work in human, animal (agriculture) and environmental health. This approach recognizes that the nature of drug resistant infections and their spread often involved pathogens which spread to and from animals (for example, pigs and poultry) to humans; and that environmental exposure to antimicrobial agents is a key factor in driving the emergence and spread of drug resistant infections.

ICAP at Columbia University is collaborating with Ministry of Health in Tanzania to build the competence and confidence of frontline HCW to safely identify, report and support people with COVID-19, implement effective infection prevention and control (IPC) activities, and serve as a trusted source of reliable information for communities impacted by the pandemic. This project is supported with funding from Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL).

ICAP at Columbia (ICAP) in partnership with CDC’s International Infection Control Program is collaborating with the Ministry of Health in Tanzania to launch a regional community of practice to rapidly enhance IPC at scale. The goal is to reduce morbidity and mortality by preventing COVID-19 and healthcare-associated infections in low-resource settings. The project aims to enhance the capacity of hospital-based IPC Focal Points to support compliance with IPC standards throughout their facilities by using a regional approach. This project is funded by CDC.

Building upon ICAP’s current approach and capacity to support surveillance systems in Zimbabwe. ICAP provides support to the Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) in contact tracing for COVID-19 patients at sub-national level in prioritized provinces to follow up with suspected and confirmed COVID cases for line listing and daily monitoring. Strengthening of databases including procurement of tablets and airtime for data transmission for contact tracing using Open Data Kit (ODK) platform is conducted so that data from contact tracing is sent to the national database. ICAP also supports the MOHCC efforts of harmonizing data sources and flow in data management. In addition, the ICAP team has been supporting community events specifically in the rural areas by convening local government, community leaders, church leaders, chiefs and village heads and village health workers COVID-19 trainings. This project is funded by PEPFAR through the CDC.  

The HIV Coverage, Quality, and Impact Network (CQUIN) is a multi-country learning network designed to accelerate the implementation of high-quality differentiated service delivery for HIV. CQUIN’s goal is to increase the number of people living with HIV initiating and sustaining highly effective HIV treatment with sustained viral suppression.

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Find out more at cquin.icap.columbia.edu

This initiative aimed to address Mozambique’s critical shortage of health care management and administration skills through a unique partnership between the Mailman School of Public Health and the Instituto Superior de Ciências de Saúde (ISCISA), led by ICAP at Columbia University, which resulted in the development of a new launched a four-year undergraduate degree curriculum in Hospital Administration at ISCISA. Subject matter experts from ICAP and the Mailman school ensured that all developed content, course materials, and practica were grounded in the latest health science reseach to ensure enrolled students receive quality training in health management and administration. Additionally, a significant focus throughout the course of the joint-project was placed on mentorship of ISCISA faculty and staff so they were equipped to sustain the program independently beginning in 2019. The initiative was funded by USAID.

The Global Technical Assistance (GTA) Project, funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was an ambitious, six-year project comprising 62 individual projects across 24 PEPFAR and Global Fund-supported countries on four continents.

In Myanmar, ICAP provided technical assistance across a wide range of initiatives including: new policies, guidelines, approaches, and tools to support HIV care and treatment services; an evaluation of the feasibility and effectiveness of the ECHO telementoring model (Project ECHO); key populations sensitivity training for health care workers; an evaluation of patient retention throughout the HIV care continuum; the development of a national service quality monitoring system (SQMS) tool; and the integration of bio-behavioral surveillance survey (IBBS) protocol.

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Find out more on the Global Technical Assistance project page

ICAP helped enhance the quality and impact of HIV, Tuberculosis (TB), and TB/HIV services and data for decision making through quality improvement. ICAP also supported the implementation of a multi-site quality improvement project designed to improve infection prevention and control practices.

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Find out more on the Global Technical Assistance project page

In September 2002, the Mailman School of Public Health (MSPH) at Columbia University (CU) entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) in Support of the Global HIV/AIDS Program. Situated within ICAP, UTAP was originally envisioned as a single-country program for the provision of technical assistance, but rapidly grew to include long-term and short-term technical and administrative assistance to the national responses to HIV/AIDS in five countries: Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. As the original UTAP project drew to a close and PEPFAR moved into its second phase—focused on sustainability—ICAP entered into several, follow-on Cooperative Agreements, called UTAP-2. Four were country-focused (in Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Swaziland, and Tanzania) and the fifth—UTAP-2 Atlanta—became a flexible mechanism for providing a wide range of technical assistance and other support to PEPFAR countries. After beginning in 2009 as a means to help CDC conduct  surveillance training more efficiently through distance education, UTAP-2 Atlanta grew over the next six and a half years to comprise 11 distinct projects addressing needs and gaps in the HIV response and answering important research questions to inform the response going forward.

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Find all UTAP and UTAP-2 resources here.

ICAP is providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Health and Child Care to conduct the second Zimbabwe Population-based HIV Impact Assessment 2020 (ZIMPHIA 2020) survey to assess HIV prevalence, incidence, and access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The first ZIMPHIA survey was conducted in 2016. The ZIMPHIA 2020 survey includes household-based interviews and HIV counseling and testing for individuals 15 years and older. Survey findings will be used to assess the impact of Zimbabwe’s HIV response at the national level, and to help guide and target future investment and programs. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC)

• ZIMPHIA 2016 Summary Sheet
• ZIMPHIA 2016 Final Report 

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Find out more at phia.icap.columbia.edu

ICAP is providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Health to conduct the second Malawi Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (MPHIA) 2020 survey to assess HIV prevalence, incidence, and access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The survey includes household-based interviews, HIV counseling, and HIV testing for individuals 15 years and older. Funded by PEPFAR though CDC, the survey findings will be used to assess the impact of Malawi’s HIV response at the national level and help guide future investments and programming.

The first MPHIA survey was conducted from November 2015-August 2016.

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MPHIA 2015-16 Summary Sheet

MPHIA 2015-16 Final Report

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Find out more at phia.icap.columbia.edu/malawi

From 2015 to 2018, ICAP provided technical support to implement, monitor, and sustain the delivery of high-quality adult and pediatric HIV prevention, care, and treatment in all regions of Ethiopia. During the project period, ICAP supported the development and enhancement of HIV-related national policies and guidelines. Regionally, the project worked to strengthen regional health bureau capacity to manage comprehensive HIV prevention, care and treatment program with local capacity. At the facility level, ICAP’s efforts enabled health care workers to deliver comprehensive and high-quality services to recipients of HIV care. The project was funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), through the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Read the end-of-project report here

The Global Nurse Capacity Building Program (GNCBP) was a multi-year program (2009-2018) to increase the quantity and quality of the nursing and midwifery workforce by addressing seven domains of health workforce development: infrastructure, curriculum, faculty, clinical skills, production, in-service training, and partnership for policy and regulation. GNCBP was administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), under the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, with funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The program used a holistic approach to strengthen nursing and midwifery education and practice through two complementary sub-projects: the Nursing Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI), which expanded the health workforce by producing new nurses and midwives, and the General Nursing (GN) project, which supported the maintenance of a skilled health workforce through continuing professional development in support of HIV care and treatment. In Ethiopia, NEPI enhanced nursing and midwifery education through infrastructure development, curriculum reform, faculty capacity building, and clinical training in partnership with MOH, Addis Ababa University School of Nursing, Arbaminch College of Health Sciences, and the University of Gondar Nursing School. Additionally, the GN promoted continued professional development for trained nurses in partnership with MOH, Ethiopia Nurses Association (ENA), and Ethiopia Midwives Association (EMwA)

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Find the GNCBP final report here

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Find out more about NEPI and General Nursing

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Read the GNCBP in Ethiopia report here

Through the Quality Improvement Capacity for Impact Project (QICIP), ICAP provides ministries of health and local partners with technical assistance that enables them to monitor program performance, identify quality challenges, explore root causes, develop targeted interventions, and conduct rapid, iterative tests of change in programs supported by PEPFAR.

Malawi is taking part in a quality improvement for differentiated service delivery project.

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Find out more on the QICIP Project Page

Through the Quality Improvement Capacity for Impact Project (QICIP), ICAP provides ministries of health and local partners with technical assistance that enables them to analyze and improve health system performance based on appropriate standards of care. Participating countries monitor program performance, identify quality challenges, explore root causes, develop targeted interventions, and conduct rapid, iterative tests of change in programs supported by PEPFAR. In Mozambique, ICAP worked with the Ministry of Health to implement a quality improvement initiative to improve rates of retention on antiretroviral treatment and viral suppression among pregnant women at 30 health facilities in Nampula Province. ICAP also adapted its training for health workers, Introduction to Quality and Quality Improvement, for the Mozambican context. This five-year cooperative agreement is funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Find out more on the QICIP Project Page

Since 2016, the goal of this project is to build the capacity of individuals, institutions, and the overall health system of Zimbabwe, and to develop and maintain a national, evidence-based HIV response using comprehensive, integrated, and accessible SI.

Its specific objectives are to:

A. Enhance the ability of national institutions to plan and coordinate SI activities.

B. Strengthen systems to monitor and evaluate the coverage, quality, and effectiveness of the national HIV response.

C. Improve systems to plan, conduct and implement comprehensive, high-quality surveys and surveillance to quantify and characterize the HIV epidemic, and

D. Strengthen human resources to support country ownership of sustainable SI activities.

Project implementation is driven by the collaborative efforts of ICAP staff based in Zimbabwe country office, staff seconded to the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) and ICAP’s headquarters team in New York working in close coordination with CDC in Zimbabwe and Atlanta.

The scope of work also includes strengthening human resources to support country ownership of sustainable SI activities. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC)

ICAP provided technical assistance to the Cameroon Ministry of Public Health to enhance national monitoring and evaluation systems and tools for maternal, newborn, and child health, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, and to build local capacity to collect, analyze, and disseminate high-quality data. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC)

In September 2002, the Mailman School of Public Health (MSPH) at Columbia University (CU) entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) in Support of the Global HIV/AIDS Program. Situated within ICAP, UTAP was originally envisioned as a single-country program for the provision of technical assistance, but rapidly grew to include long-term and short-term technical and administrative assistance to the national responses to HIV/AIDS in five countries: Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. As the original UTAP project drew to a close and PEPFAR moved into its second phase—focused on sustainability—ICAP entered into several, follow-on Cooperative Agreements, called UTAP-2. Four were country-focused (in Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Swaziland, and Tanzania) and the fifth—UTAP-2 Atlanta—became a flexible mechanism for providing a wide range of technical assistance and other support to PEPFAR countries. After beginning in 2009 as a means to help CDC conduct  surveillance training more efficiently through distance education, UTAP-2 Atlanta grew over the next six and a half years to comprise 11 distinct projects addressing needs and gaps in the HIV response and answering important research questions to inform the response going forward.

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Find all UTAP and UTAP-2 resources here.

ICAP worked with the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, the World Health Organization, and other partners to design a curriculum for a pilot infection prevention and control certificate training program, adapted for the Sierra Leone context. This project was funded by the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) at the CDC.    

In collaboration with the Columbia University Earth Institute and the National Institute of Health (INS) , ICAP is conducting a research study to better understand the response of Mozambique’s health care system to climate change and disasters. Through key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and an electronic questionnaire with various stakeholders, ICAP and INS will evaluate the attitudes toward disaster-response health policies on communities in Mozambique, determine the attitudes toward communication strategies pre- and post- climate disaster, identify areas for improvement at policy, community, and facility/structural levels and determine if lessons learned from the devastating 2019 cyclone season informed the response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. This project is funded by Columbia University.

Columbia University’s role in implementing PEPFAR began in 2003, when it received funding from the Global AIDS Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) to support the development of important components of national HIV programs, including treatment protocols and training. In 2004, ICAP was founded and was awarded a new cooperative agreement from CDC under the PEPFAR framework, the Track 1.0 funding mechanism, to provide comprehensive HIV care and treatment in five countries: Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tanzania, with programming in Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, and Nigeria subsequently added. This initiative, the Multicountry Columbia Antiretroviral Program (MCAP), rapidly expanded programs for HIV care and ART by promoting early diagnosis of HIV infection, maintaining the health of those living with HIV, and preventing further transmission of HIV within the community. MCAP programming between 2004 and 2012, in addition to being focused on rapidly scaling up care and treatment in partnership with host-country governments, also emphasized the full continuum of HIV-related services, continued capacity building and health systems strengthening, and transition of operations to host governments and local nongovernmental organizations.

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Find the MCAP End-of-Project Reports here.

This initiative aimed to address Mozambique’s critical shortage of health care management and administration skills through a unique partnership between the Mailman School of Public Health and the Instituto Superior de Ciências de Saúde (ISCISA), led by ICAP at Columbia University, which resulted in the development of a new launched a four-year undergraduate degree curriculum in Hospital Administration at ISCISA. Subject matter experts from ICAP and the Mailman school ensured that all developed content, course materials, and practica were grounded in the latest health science reseach to ensure enrolled students receive quality training in health management and administration. Additionally, a significant focus throughout the course of the joint-project was placed on mentorship of ISCISA faculty and staff so they were equipped to sustain the program independently beginning in 2019. The initiative was funded by USAID.

In Kenya, ICAP partnered with the Ministry of Health to:

• Supported the implementation and evaluation of an enhanced service package for HIV-infected adolescent and young pregnant and postnatal women using the group antenatal care model and additional support services at seven health facilities in Nyanza.
• Supported an evaluation on the feasibility and effectiveness of the ECHO telementoring model (Project ECH™).
• Supported the Ministry of Health to design and implement a national strategy for Test and Start service delivery, including community-based ART groups (C-BART).

 

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Find out more on the Global TA Page

ICAP helped enhance the quality and impact of HIV, Tuberculosis (TB), and TB/HIV services and data for decision making through quality improvement. ICAP also supported the implementation of a multi-site quality improvement project designed to improve infection prevention and control practices.

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Find out more on the Global Technical Assistance project page

The Global Nurse Capacity Building Program (GNCBP) was a multi-year program (2009-2018) to increase the quantity and quality of the nursing and midwifery workforce by addressing seven domains of health workforce development: infrastructure, curriculum, faculty, clinical skills, production, in-service training, and partnership for policy and regulation. GNCBP was administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), under the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, with funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The program used a holistic approach to strengthen nursing and midwifery education and practice through two complementary sub-projects: the Nursing Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI), which expanded the health workforce by producing new nurses and midwives, and the General Nursing (GN) project, which supported the maintenance of a skilled health workforce through continuing professional development in support of HIV care and treatment. In Ethiopia, NEPI enhanced nursing and midwifery education through infrastructure development, curriculum reform, faculty capacity building, and clinical training in partnership with MOH, Addis Ababa University School of Nursing, Arbaminch College of Health Sciences, and the University of Gondar Nursing School. Additionally, the GN promoted continued professional development for trained nurses in partnership with MOH, Ethiopia Nurses Association (ENA), and Ethiopia Midwives Association (EMwA)

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Find the GNCBP final report here

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Find out more about NEPI and General Nursing

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Read the GNCBP in Ethiopia report here

This initiative aimed to address Mozambique’s critical shortage of health care management and administration skills through a unique partnership between the Mailman School of Public Health and the Instituto Superior de Ciências de Saúde (ISCISA), led by ICAP at Columbia University, which resulted in the development of a new launched a four-year undergraduate degree curriculum in Hospital Administration at ISCISA. Subject matter experts from ICAP and the Mailman school ensured that all developed content, course materials, and practica were grounded in the latest health science reseach to ensure enrolled students receive quality training in health management and administration. Additionally, a significant focus throughout the course of the joint-project was placed on mentorship of ISCISA faculty and staff so they were equipped to sustain the program independently beginning in 2019. The initiative was funded by USAID.

ICAP helped enhance the quality and impact of HIV, Tuberculosis (TB), and TB/HIV services and data for decision making through quality improvement. ICAP also supported the implementation of a multi-site quality improvement project designed to improve infection prevention and control practices.

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Find out more on the Global Technical Assistance project page

In September 2002, the Mailman School of Public Health (MSPH) at Columbia University (CU) entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for the University Technical Assistance Projects (UTAP) in Support of the Global HIV/AIDS Program. Situated within ICAP, UTAP was originally envisioned as a single-country program for the provision of technical assistance, but rapidly grew to include long-term and short-term technical and administrative assistance to the national responses to HIV/AIDS in five countries: Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. As the original UTAP project drew to a close and PEPFAR moved into its second phase—focused on sustainability—ICAP entered into several, follow-on Cooperative Agreements, called UTAP-2. Four were country-focused (in Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Swaziland, and Tanzania) and the fifth—UTAP-2 Atlanta—became a flexible mechanism for providing a wide range of technical assistance and other support to PEPFAR countries. After beginning in 2009 as a means to help CDC conduct  surveillance training more efficiently through distance education, UTAP-2 Atlanta grew over the next six and a half years to comprise 11 distinct projects addressing needs and gaps in the HIV response and answering important research questions to inform the response going forward.

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Find all UTAP and UTAP-2 resources here.

The Global Nurse Capacity Building Program (GNCBP) was a multi-year program (2009-2018) to increase the quantity and quality of the nursing and midwifery workforce by addressing seven domains of health workforce development: infrastructure, curriculum, faculty, clinical skills, production, in-service training, and partnership for policy and regulation. GNCBP was administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), under the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, with funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The program used a holistic approach to strengthen nursing and midwifery education and practice through two complementary sub-projects: the Nursing Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI), which expanded the health workforce by producing new nurses and midwives, and the General Nursing (GN) project, which supported the maintenance of a skilled health workforce through continuing professional development in support of HIV care and treatment. In Ethiopia, NEPI enhanced nursing and midwifery education through infrastructure development, curriculum reform, faculty capacity building, and clinical training in partnership with MOH, Addis Ababa University School of Nursing, Arbaminch College of Health Sciences, and the University of Gondar Nursing School. Additionally, the GN promoted continued professional development for trained nurses in partnership with MOH, Ethiopia Nurses Association (ENA), and Ethiopia Midwives Association (EMwA)

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Find the GNCBP final report here

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Find out more about NEPI and General Nursing

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Read the GNCBP in Ethiopia report here

ICAP provided technical assistance to the Cameroon Ministry of Public Health to enhance national monitoring and evaluation systems and tools for maternal, newborn, and child health, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, and to build local capacity to collect, analyze, and disseminate high-quality data. (funded by PEPFAR through the CDC)