Where We Work

Following is more specific information about several country NPHI programs.

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)external icon

Launched in 2017, Africa CDC works in partnership with the 55 Africa Union member states to coordinate regional public health initiatives through five regional collaborating centers (RCCs) located in Egypt (Northern Africa), Gabon (Central Africa), Kenya (Eastern Africa), Nigeria (Western Africa), and Zambia (Southern Africa). NPHIs serve as pillars for Africa CDC implementation, including surveillance, preparedness, and emergency response.

In December 2019, Africa CDC released two important NPHI guidance documents for Member States. CDC was a key partner in developing both: the Framework for Development of National Public Health Institutes in Africaexternal icon and Providing a Legal Framework for a National Public Health Instituteexternal icon.

In addition, CDC staff based at the Africa CDC are helping to develop and expand its continent-wide programs in areas such as event-based surveillance, One Health, biosafety and biosecurity, workforce development, and antimicrobial resistance.

Burkina Faso Institut National de Santé Publique

Accomplishment: Burkina Faso’s head of state officially established the Institut National de Santé Publique of Burkina in July 2018 by signing legislation that merged three existing public health research centers and created three new directorates: emergency operations center, central reference laboratory, and Public Health and Population Observatory. Burkina Faso has developed its first strategic plan, which sets objectives and guides priorities for the institute. To better develop leadership and management, DGHP also supported a peer to peer visit for Burkina Faso NPHI leadership to France and Belgium.

Cambodia National Institute of Public Health (NIPH)external icon

Accomplishment: In 2019, Cambodia’s National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) developed a new five-year strategic plan for 2020-2025 operations, through DGHP funding and technical assistance. DGHP also helped NIPH develop a National Health Systems Research Agenda enabling Cambodia to track and address public health research priorities. A working group/think tank will promote, update, and monitor agenda implementation. As part of this effort, NIPH has developed an e-database of national health research activities and findings. The system collects data on health research, allowing scientists to submit research proposals online to the National Ethics Committee for Health Research (NEHCR).

Colombia’s National Institute of Health (Instituto Nacional de Salud, INS)external icon

Accomplishment: Colombia’s NPHI, Instituto Nacional de Salud (INS), received a 2019 Colombian Ingenuity Award (“Premios Ingenio”)external icon for the winning Health Project in an annual competition organized by Colombia’s Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications and the Colombian Federation of Software and IT Industry. The winning project, SIVIGILA 4.0, is Colombia’s surveillance information system. DGHP helped INS modernize their entire surveillance system to assist with rapid turnaround from reporting to analysis to dissemination. Specifically, INS has improved district access for data input and analysis, as well as expanding the system modules available to provide a greater variety of data and laboratory data integration.

National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL)external icon

The NPHIL program began with a two-week training session, followed by testing twelve BSCs across the country. A second phase of training for additional skills development, decontamination, and repair of selected BSC is scheduled in 2020. BSC certification also includes program management training. CDC, the Association of Public Health Laboratories, and the Eagleson Institute provide technical assistance and training to NPHIL staff.

Mozambique’s National Institute of Health (Instituto Nacional de Saude, INS)external icon

Accomplishment: In 2019, two cyclones hit the coast of Mozambique during the same season. This began a coordinated response from the National Institute of Health (INS) for surveillance and control of a massive cholera outbreak. Previous efforts to build capacity in surveillance and public health response helped INS work with the Ministry of Health to curb the outbreak through early cholera detection and vaccination of almost one million people within three weeks. The response also pulled upon Mozambique’s cadre of 45 disease detectives trained through the Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program. For future emergency response, INS is building critical emerging infections disease detection skills and operationalizing their new BSL-3 laboratory.

Nigeria Centers for Disease Control (NCDC)

Accomplishment: In 2019, the Nigeria Centers for Disease Control (NCDC) launched and graduated the first cohort of Improving Public Health Management for Action (IMPACT) fellows. This program was designed to improve the capacity of health systems by building a workforce of skilled public health managers who  effectively use available resources to improve population health status. Nigeria’s IMPACT training was designed for mid-senior level staff around five core competencies, including program management and planning, communication, scientific writing, and emergency preparedness. To make the course more hands-on, IMPACT focuses on relevant topics that the individuals can use in their daily work (e.g., antimicrobial resistance and governance).

Ukraine Public Health Center (UPHC)external icon

Accomplishment: In 2019, CDC, IANPHI, and WHO-EURO helped the Ukraine Public Health Center (UPHC) leading a public health function assessment with the NPHI Staged Development Tool (SDT). To identify areas for growth and improvement, UPHC examined seven internal and external public health functions, including implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR) and population health status. Through this process, UPHC identified six priority activities to strengthen their operations and public health functions.

Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI)external icon

Accomplishment: The Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI) has helped strengthen surveillance systems through its commitment to timely and well-documented data improving information-sharing and communication. DGHP’s support for ZNPHI and strengthening emergency management capacity prompted the establishment of Zambia’s first Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC) and Incident Management System (IMS). This led to a significant change in the country’s 2018 cholera outbreak response, during which ZNPHI organized a multi-sectoral coordinating technical team. Based on their emergency management expertise, ZNPHI has also arranged to support the current Ebola response in DRC.