Detailed Mechanism Funding and Narrative

Years of mechanism: 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Details for Mechanism ID: 11605
Country/Region: Vietnam
Year: 2012
Main Partner: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Main Partner Program: NA
Organizational Type: Implementing Agency
Funding Agency: HHS/CDC
Total Funding: $717,397

This IM will be used to fund several activities that relate to CDC Vietnams ongoing operations from headquarters in: 1) supporting technical assistance and management training to university and academic institutions; 2) development of training and guided field experience in surveillance and epidemiology; 3) collaboration and support for regional workshops with other GAP offices in the Asia region and stakeholders such as WHO on surveillance; 4) coordinating evaluation teams to assess the impact of programs and deliver the most effective interventions; 5) arranging for regional technical assistance laboratory bench training and hands-on learning at reduced costs.

OHSS funding will support CDC-SMDP technical assistance to Hanoi School of Public Health (HSPH) and Pasteur Institute (PI) to become in-country technical assistance (TA) providers on monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework and tools, including pre- and post- training assessment, impact evaluation.

The goal of the Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) is to develop a self-sustaining institutionalized capacity to train preventive medicine staff in field epidemiology in Vietnam. The training will be integrated with Vietnams overall efforts to strengthen capacity for minimizing the risks and impacts of communicable diseases.

CDC-Thailand provides in-service, hands-on learning in the Thai public health labs, and TA visits to Vietnam labs. CDC-Thailand supports Vietnam with quality management systems; implementation of HIV EQA and IQC programs; CD4 and Viral Load EQA programs.

The PEPFAR Laboratory Program has identified low cost technical assistance (TA) for Vietnam. CDC staff supporting the China program have extensive experience in PCR-based technologies and viral load testing.

Funding for Laboratory Infrastructure (HLAB): $335,000

Funds in the amount of $255,000 will be used to obtain cost-effective regional technical assistance in collaboration with CDC Thailand utilizing experience and expertise available in Thailand. Thailand has one of the most developed healthcare systems in Southeast Asia which is highly respected for their expertise throughout the region. Due to the geographic proximity of Thailand to Vietnam and the low cost of regional travel, technical assistance from Thailand is a fraction of the cost of other international technical assistance. For Vietnam, CDC Thailand provides in-service, hands-on learning in the Thailand Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) laboratories, and technical assistance visits to Vietnam laboratories. CDC Thailand supports Vietnam in the following areas: quality management systems; implementation of HIV EQA and IQC programs; enrollment and support of Vietnam laboratories in Thailand CD4 and Viral Load EQA programs; diagnosis of opportunistic infections (OI), STIs and non-TB lung infections; and implementation of microbiology EQA programs. In March 2011, CDC Thailand helped organize a Quality Management Symposium for high-level government of Vietnam health officials and laboratory technicians. The symposium was designed to educate the participants on quality management principles and available interventions, such as SLMTA and the QMS certificate program that could be implemented in Vietnam to improve the quality of laboratory testing.

In COP 12, CDC Thailand will continue the range of quality assurance and microbiology activities. In the area of quality assurance, this includes technical assistance and support for the following: CD4 EQA Program; HIV serology EQA/IQC Program; implementation of SLMTA; viral load EQA and technical assistance for the development of viral load guidelines for Vietnam; test kit evaluations; and the implementation of the WHO QA assessment tool. Support for microbiology activities will continue for Vietnam institutions, specifically technical assistance for OI and STI analytical techniques, establishment of microbiology OI EQA program and technical assistance for non-TB lung infections.COP 12 funding for this partner has been increased as we will use TA from this partner as a replacement for TA from more costly Laboratory Coalition Partners.

The PEPFAR Laboratory Program will use $80,000 of these funds as it continues to source low cost TA for Vietnam. CDC staff currently supporting the China program have extensive experience in PCR-based technologies and the creation of viral load (VL) testing networks within various developing countries. Vietnam is currently expanding national infrastructure for VL testing, for patients suspected of developing resistance to first line therapy. COP 12 funds will be used to support three VL-specific TA visits from CDC China laboratory experts. TA will be provided at the national level (policy makers) and directly to two selected PEPFAR supported labs and will include recommendations for improved laboratory infrastructure, completion of national VL testing guidelines, creation of a national VL QC program, development of a national quality assurance program, and creation of a national VL testing network.

Funding for Strategic Information (HVSI): $324,000

PEPFAR funds ($100,000) will be used to support the implementation and operations of Vietnams Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP). The program aims to strengthen the capacity of preventive medicine staff to conduct effective communicable disease surveillance and to respond to outbreaks across Vietnam through 2 approaches:1) the 3-week Field Epidemiology Short Courses (FESC) that have been conducted since 2008 to address the urgent need for training provincial and district preventive medicine staff across Vietnam; and2) the two-year FETP (classic model) that was launched in 2009 as an on-the-job fellowship program for selected preventive medicine staff at the central and regional levels.

The FETP curriculum is competency-based, and allows fellows to acquire specified knowledge, skills, attitudes and competencies in field epidemiology. The FETP curriculum targets the competencies through classroom based training modules and specified field projects and activities. The specified field projects and activities are directed towards achieving competencies through learning by doing and collaborative problem solving in the field. In addition to conducting these specified field projects, fellows are expected to participate in a range of activities relevant to field epidemiology that underpin the essential day-to-day functions of public health. Applications for the program are accepted on an annual basis with an average class-size of 10-12 fellows.

In collaboration with the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute, and CDC GAP Atlanta, CDC Vietnam will conduct incidence surveillance to obtain incidence rates among most at risk groups for measuring the extent to which HIV transmission is occurring and to provide evidence of intervention impact. CDC recently supported the validation of two tests for recent infection (TRI) and will apply these assays on stored blood specimen of multiple existing cross-sectional studies in Vietnam. Funds will be used to procure TRI test kits to be applied on HIV positive specimen.

CDC Vietnam will collaborate with other GAP offices in the Asia region and stakeholders, such as WHO, to organize the 3rd Asia Regional Surveillance Workshop to provide country updates on best practices and lessons learned related to key surveillance areas, and review state-of-the-art international best practices in Asia. The workshop will provide an opportunity to share programmatic and technical issues related to sampling high risk populations, size estimation methodologies, HIV incidence, and effective data use.

Funds in the amount of $134,000 will be used to identify and contract with a local partner to evaluate prevention services targeting most at risk populations in Ho Chi Minh City. The evaluation will assess the impact of prevention on high-risk sexual and injecting behavior over time, including psychosocial health indicators, to help programs deliver the most effective interventions. Funds will be transferred after competitive bidding to the contractor for field data collection, including participant recruitment and interviews.

CDC Vietnam will provide travel expenses to obtain TA from GAP Atlanta and other international experts for complex statistical analysis, sampling methodologies, network analysis studies, evaluation study designs, and other strategic information assistance to support program implementation in Vietnam.

Funding for Health Systems Strengthening (OHSS): $58,397

OHSS funding will support CDC-SMDP technical assistance to Hanoi School of Public Health (HSPH) and Pasteur Institute (PI) as they shift direction in their capacity development and training programs to become in-country technical assistance (TA) providers rather than training implementers. TA includes guidance on monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework and tools, including pre- and post- training assessment, impact evaluation, curriculum updates, process revision, mentoring and supervision strengthening, alumni network development and development of articles for publication in international journals. Significantly, SMDP support to HSPH and PI will enhance their collaboration and provision of TA to two other PEPFAR supported management training programsthe HIVQUAL roll out with VAAC and TQM training for the Ministry of Defense health system under DOD funding. SMDP will emphasize developing a training systems approach and encourage HSPH and PI to continue to pilot innovative approaches and to help them develop a TA role in pre-service curricula development for other Vietnamese learning institutions.