Detailed Mechanism Funding and Narrative

Years of mechanism: 2011 2012 2013 2014

Details for Mechanism ID: 12953
Country/Region: Angola
Year: 2011
Main Partner: Ministry of Health - Angola
Main Partner Program: NA
Organizational Type: Host Country Government Agency
Funding Agency: HHS/CDC
Total Funding: $200,000

Human resources represent a major challenge in terms of both quantity and capacity of the healthcare delivery system to address Angola's public health needs. Angola currently has one physician, fourteen nurses, one pharmacist and one laboratory technician per 10,000 people. These statistics illuminate the critical shortage of skilled public health workers, particularly field epidemiologists and laboratory managers, with the capacity to respond to the increasing public health needs in the Republic of Angola. This shortage of qualified and capable health care workers poses a major challenge for healthcare delivery. The Angola Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (A-FELTP) is a collaborative effort of the Angola Ministry of (MoH), University Agostinho Neto, the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), and PEPFAR to address human resource issues regarding qualified epidemiology and lab personnel.

The shortage of qualified health care workers poses a major challenge for quality and sustainable health care delivery. Implementation of the Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (FELTP) will 1)enhance retention of health care providers through specialization opportunities; 2) increase the number of qualified professionally trained health care workers through short term trainings (60 annually in field-based applied epidemiology, laboratory management and public health practice training); 3)strengthening the capacity of health and training institutions to meet accreditation standards; 4) contribute to the development of specific evidence based pre-service curricula; 5) in collaboration with the Avian Influenza program, through a staged process, 6-12 residents will be trained annually to earn a specialization or masters degree in public health; 6) develop curriculum for training of trainers and terms of reference for the lab trainers to build human resources to support expansion and decentralization of the laboratory network. Partnerships will be sought with the private sector to support students enrolled in the program. The program will be initiated in Luanda; other provincial universities that are now being stood up could receive training support initially via distant learning technology sponsored by the World Bank. Technical assistance will be provided to explore twinning opportunities with compatible universities to strengthen and adopt standardized, pre-service competency-based education driven by evidence of need.

The USG support for the A-FELTP, Angolan Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program is consistent with the Government of Angola (GRA's) National Strategic Plan to strengthen a cadre of public health professionals to adequately respond to the national initiative to combat HIV/AIDS. A Memorandum of Understanding has been executed among the Ministry of Health and AFENET to establish the A-FELTP. CDC and MoH have been engaged in conversations with UAN. A single eligibility FOA is being prepared for the establishemnet of a CoAg with UAN to complement support to the A-FELTP.

Funding for Health Systems Strengthening (OHSS): $200,000

FY11 focus, the USG will continue funding the MOH to continue the following activities:

Develop and implement, along with other partners, an integrated and sustainable training plan to build evidence-based public health capacity.

Develop, along with other partners, curricula and facilitate courses in epidemiology, surveillance, outbreak investigation, biostatistics, among others, along with local faculty, MOH staff, and other guest lecturers.

Work with counterparts to develop guidelines for trainee selection and select first cohort of trainees

Work with counterparts to develop field site guidelines and obtain site commitments for participation.

Designate a program director or other local focal person to be mentored to assume leadership responsibility and overall program management responsibility.

Strengthen affiliations with international organizations, the Africa Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) and Training in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network, an umbrella organization of applied epidemiology and laboratory programs in other countries, and

Enhance communications and networking of public health practitioners and researchers in the country and throughout the region.

Enhance linkages between public health epidemiology and laboratories.

Register up to 30 participants for each of two short courses.

Register the first cohort students for the 2 year program.

Enrollment of Cohorts for A-FELTP.

Cross Cutting Budget Categories and Known Amounts Total: $120,000
Human Resources for Health $120,000