Health worker training & management

The right training at the right time means health workers can respond to emerging threats quickly and safely. Our programs train and mentor health workers in person, in health facilities, through eLearning and mobile apps—whatever it takes to safely get them the information and skills they need. Our COVID-19 trainings span safety and infection prevention, outpatient management, vaccine rollout, telehealth, mental health and psychosocial support, disease surveillance, and more.

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Real-time emergency communications & digital health solutions

IntraHealth develops open source, interoperable, data-driven digital health solutions that keep strategic information growing and flowing—even during emergencies.

mHero—our two-way communication tool developed during West Africa’s 2014 Ebola outbreak—connects ministries of health with frontline health workers in even the remotest regions, allowing for real-time SMS information exchange. As part of outbreak surveillance and response, mHero is a powerful supplement to lab and vaccine delivery systems. Liberia and Kenya both use mHero to send health workers updates on fast-changing COVID-19 policies and best practices, collect information about symptoms among health workers, identify personnel shortages, and detect outbreaks in real time.

mHero is interoperable with our iHRIS human resources information system, which is now used in 20 countries. Together, they can help governments track vaccination status among health workers, generate reminders about follow-up doses, and monitor health worker performance and service delivery data.

By harnessing the full potential of their data through our interoperable systems, health officials can strategically deploy health workers as part of their vaccine delivery efforts and identify staffing gaps when they occur.

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Vaccine rollout & supply chain management

Our programs around the world are helping national governments roll out vaccines in their countries and harnessing the unparalleled potential of health workers to combat vaccine hesitancy in communities everywhere.

In Uganda, our RHITES-E program is training hundreds of health workers to roll out Uganda’s new influx of 22 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, including from AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Sinopharm, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna, and Janssen. We trained 378 health workers during OctoberDecember 2021 alone and—in partnership with district cold chain technicians, regional emergency operations centers, and others—have helped distribute over 38,000 doses so far.

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Pandemic preparedness & surveillance

From national ministries of health to individual health facilities, we partner with countries to prepare for emergencies. Together we use the latest data to deploy health workers where they’re needed most, keep facilities stocked with medicines and supplies, and keep essential services running.

Read: 6 Ways South Sudan Is Using Data to Tackle Its HIV Epidemic—and Prepare for Future Pandemics

Read: Mali and Kenya Use Data to Forecast Health Workforce Needs for COVID-19

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Keeping essential services available—even during a pandemic

During a pandemic, when many clients opt for telehealth and self-care, making essential services accessible is key. That’s why IntraHealth works with governments around the world to keep essential services running safely and connect clients to care wherever they are.

For instance, our team at the Challenge Initiative’s Francophone West Africa Hub adapts high-impact interventions to ensure women and girls continue to receive essential family planning services during COVID-19. Despite the pandemic, they added 350,000+ new contraceptive users in 12 cities over the past five years.

Read: mHealth Tool Is Keeping Central American Clients Connected to HIV Care amid COVID-19 Shutdowns >>

Stronger policies & investments in the health workforce

As the secretariat of the Frontline Health Workers Coalition, IntraHealth advocates for more strategic investments to keep frontline health workers working at the top of their abilities to keep their communities safe. IntraHealth’s advocacy has helped lead to:

• Health worker voices and concerns featured prominently at the 2021 White House Global COVID-19 Summit.
• Health workforce strengthening incorporated into USAID’s Global VAX initiative to address COVID-19 vaccine inequity.
• Bipartisan US Senate legislation on global health security that includes a USAID pilot program for health systems strengthening and multilateral support for surging and managing additional staff during emergencies.
• 2020 USAID Report on Health Systems Strengthening for Congress that offered more detailed information than ever about health systems investments, shining a light on gaps in funding and programming.

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