Public Health Collaboration between Ukraine and Norway
Prosjekt
|Oppdatert
The main goal of the collaboration is to strengthen The Public Health Center of Ukraine's capacity through strategic and technical twinning with a focus on infection control systems (IPC), health crisis preparedness and access to health data.
Sammendrag
The Public Health Center at the Ministry of Health of Ukraine (PHCU) and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) have signed a three-year cooperation agreement in February 2020, with the aim of strengthening Ukraine's capacity in public health. The collaboration is anchored in the two countries' respective Ministries of Health and is supported by key players such as the World Health Organization's Regional Office for Europe and its country office in Ukraine, as well as the EU.
The main goal of collaboration is to strengthen PHCU's capacity through strategic and technical twinning with a focus on infection control systems (IPC), health crisis preparedness and access to health data. This will happen through strengthening the implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR), improving national systems for monitoring infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), improving systems for the vaccination register and developing public health profiles. PHCU is responsible for implementing the activities, while FHI contributes with professional guidance and strategic advice.
Key areas of collaboration

Results
The collaboration's main focus is strengthening public health functions and public health capacity in Ukraine. It consists of four work packages as described below.
Work package 1: Development and implementation of IHR functions and systems for health crisis preparedness
Regulatory framework for IHR and Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) implementation: e.g. draft Law on Public Health
Revised scope of work, structure, staffing of the IHR and Emergency Response Department at the central level; establishment and training of EPR units at regional level
Platform for safe exchange of data and information between the Central and regional public health structures as well as among the regions themselves (similar to the Event Information Site for IHR National Focal Points (WHO) or EWRS (EU))
Relevant support on Joint External Evaluation 2021 – self-assessment tool and other activities.
Work package 2: Development and implementation of national AMR and infection control (IPC) systems
Series of short workshops and online training courses developed
A series of regulations vital for AMR, including the Procedure for Surveillance and Epidemiological Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance approved
Printed materials for health workers to promote good practices on IPC/AMR
Population awareness campaigns through various video materials
Translation of the AMR functionalities of the DHIS-2 into Ukrainian (in collaboration with the University of Oslo) – mini face-to-face training conducted in November 2022Revised National Action Plan for AMR (2023-2024), including a round table for the expert group on the results from the ongoing "Central Asian and Eastern European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance" (CAESAR)
Work package 3: Further develop systems for vaccination registration
PHCU health information/ immunization staff supported by the bilateral collaboration contributed to:
- Development of online and publicly available dashboards providing updated information on vaccination coverage in each region
- Implementation of immunization module into the Electronic health record (EHS) system
- Piloting immunization module with covid-19 vaccines
Work package 4: Public Health Profiles
Development of regional (oblast) public health profiles – demo version, indicators yet to be approved and institutionalized
Capacity in PHCU as well as some regional public health staff to develop and use public health profiles
- Report on public health profiles in Ukraine and experiences with their development presented at the 15th European Public Health Conference 2022 “Strengthening health systems: improving population health and being” in Berlin, Germany, 9-12 November 2022.
Norwegian Institute of Public Health staff contributed to the following WHO products, which provide good examples of bilateral and multilateral support coming together:

https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/352793
Project Name (official from the HOD grant letters): UKR1802 "Public Health component - Institutional Cooperation in the Health Sector"
Prosjektleder
Elina Dale, Global Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Prosjektdeltakere
Elina Dale, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Steve Diaz French, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Marianne A Riise Bergsaker, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Heidi Lyshol, Health and Inequality, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Ingvild Fjeldheim, Global Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Jan Peter William Himmels, Reviews and Health Technology Assessments, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Karine Nordstrand, Infection Control and Vaccines, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Bjørn Gunnar Iversen, Infection Control and Preparedness, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Elena Torgersen, Global Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Start
11.11.2019
Slutt
31.12.2022
Status
Pågående
Prosjekteier/ prosjektansvarlig
Norwegian Institute of Public Health