Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC) Project

Led by FHI 360, the project is a five-year initiative funded by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). EpiC was modified in early 2020 to include funding to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19 and to bolster health systems to address the pandemic. EpiC supports countries to deliver COVID-19 vaccines, with a focus on 14 countries, including Botswana, Djibouti, El Salvador, Eswatini, Haiti, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Maldives, five Pacific Island nations, and Papua New Guinea. The project partners work with national stakeholders to develop and roll out COVID-19 vaccination policies and plans, prepare frontline health workers to deliver COVID-19 vaccines, track adverse effects, and develop monitoring systems to improve vaccine delivery. EpiC also leads vaccine communication campaigns and engages trusted local leaders and peers in sharing accurate information about the safety and benefits of COVID-19 vaccinations. In addition to vaccine delivery, EpiC provides technical assistance on the clinical management of COVID-19 cases, including training and coaching on triage, infection control, critical care, and COVID-19 therapeutics for physicians, nurses, and other members of the health workforce. The project has developed a COVID-19 Adult Case Management Series Training Curriculum, which has been adapted and rolled out to 19 countries supported by EpiC. EpiC is also expanding clinical technical assistance beyond tertiary health facilities, supporting telehealth approaches and community-based care models. EpiC is strengthening oxygen ecosystems in 13 countries, providing technical and procurement support for activities such as conducting rapid assessments of oxygen capacity, procuring oxygen and supplies, preparing for and installing pressure swing absorption (PSA) plants, and repairing existing PSA plants and concentrators. The project is also strengthening the nonclinical skills of biomedical engineers and technicians and the clinical skills of healthcare providers to provide oxygen therapy. Furthermore, EpiC is supporting countries to detect COVID-19 infection by strengthening capacities at the national and subnational levels to improve diagnostic networks, ensure functional equipment, develop strong specimen collection, referral, and supply chain systems, procure diagnostic commodities, and conduct genome sequencing. The project is also supporting the procurement of equipment and other laboratory commodities to bolster COVID-19 diagnostic capacity. EpiC contributes to national COVID-19 responses by procuring and delivering essential items to governments in urgent need, including personal protective equipment, data management software, COVID-19 diagnostics, and other laboratory equipment and supplies, as well as essential medical consumables and durables, and medical oxygen. The project has responded to urgent needs in several countries, including Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, and Nepal, by procuring equipment and supplies to treat severe COVID-19 cases and support healthcare facilities. The EpiC project is a critical component of the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, providing technical assistance and support to countries to strengthen their healthcare systems and respond to the pandemic.