Tag: E&Surveillance

  • Public Health Institute of Malawi Hosts One-Health Meeting, Eyes National Strategy for Coordinated Health Action.

    Public Health Institute of Malawi Hosts One-Health Meeting, Eyes National Strategy for Coordinated Health Action.

    One Health Stakeholder Meeting

    Ufulu Gardens, Lilongwe, Malawi June-2025..
    by
    Moses Nyambalo Phiri in collaboration with Mark Mwalabu, and Settie Kanyanda.

    The One Health Stakeholders Meeting, held at Ufulu Gardens in Lilongwe on June 26, 2025, brought together key players from Malawi’s public health, animal health, and environmental sectors. Organized by the Public Health Institute of Malawi (PHIM) in collaboration with the Department of Animal Health and Livestock Development (DAHLD) and the Environmental Affairs Department (EAD), the meeting aimed to strengthen collaborative approaches under the One Health framework, align ongoing and planned activities, and improve coordination and cross-sectoral efforts.

    Representatives from various vital government bodies, including the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change, the Department of Disaster Affairs, the Malawi Police Service, the Malawi Defence Force, and the Office of the President and Cabinet, were in attendance. The Airport Commandant of Kamuzu International Airport’s Port Health Services also participated.

    Dr. Wilfred Chalamira Nkhoma from the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) officially opened the meeting. He stressed the critical need for strategic and coordinated efforts within a One Health approach to ensure its success.

    He particularly emphasized the critical need to operationalize One Health and establish structured, periodic meetings to review progress and foster accountability. He said “A significant proposal was the in the development of a national One Health strategy or policy with clear implementation and accountability plans for each sector” . He called for an Accountability and Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) framework to track sectoral contributions and progress and suggested an independent committee to develop Scorecard to evaluate sector performance.

    “…Malawi needs to strategically coordinate efforts in One Health approach to achieve overall improved health of our nation….”

    Dr. Wilfred Chalamira Nkhoma – OPC.

    Several organizations presented their contributions and insights:

    The Pandemic Fund announced that Malawi had a $2.7 million share in the 2024 regional project focusing on disease surveillance and workforce response to climate-driven disease outbreaks. As of current, a multi-country proposal (RAPID-AI) for 2025 and a single-country proposal for strengthening pandemic preparedness through One Health approach are pending approval.

    Health Informaticts Malawi advocated for health informatics and data governance through training, advocacy, and standardization, emphasizing that “Every dataset should generate a decision.” while the WHO shared that they have been supporting for national One Health policies and AMR-related strategies, noting fragmentation and stressing the need for clear sectoral responsibilities and a skilled workforce.

    The AMR National Coordinating Committee (ANCC) provided an update on the AMR National Action Plan (2023–2030), with plans to establish a national OH AMR data warehouse, and there was also notion that research on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in poultry had identifying gaps in research and challenges related to data quality.

    HISP Malawi / University of Malawi showcased climate-health initiatives, including the DHIS2 Climate App (CHAP) and a climate data portal, emphasizing interoperability, whereas Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust Focused on AMR research, particularly in Salmonella and E. coli, with pilot One Health research on AMU and AMR in hospitals.

    Key questions arose regarding the underrepresentation of environmental data in OH strategies and how to promote cross-use-case infrastructure and data interoperability with systems like NAMIS and OHSP. A follow-up call with GIZ and HISP was recommended to align integration efforts.

    Mirna Hussein, ECSA and Dr. Chikonzero, GIZ

    The meeting, co-funded by GIZ and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), the collective commitment to a unified approach to public health in Malawi.

  • NAPHS Development, 2025.

    NAPHS Development, 2025.

    NAPHS 2025.

    Lilongwe, Malawi – May 28th, 2025.
    by
    Moses Nyambalo Phiri in collaboration withGrace Choo and Settie Kanyanda.

    On 26th May, a crucial workshop kicked off in Mponera, Dowa district, marking a significant step forward in Malawi’s health security. The Public Health Institute of Malawi (PHIM), with support from the World Bank and the Tackling Deadly Diseases in Africa Program (TDDAP), hosted a fundamental workshop focused on developing the nation’s National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS).

    A Unified Approach to Public Health, The NAPHS is a strategic framework that ensures a unified and comprehensive approach to public health, directly aligning with the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005). This current workshop built upon insights gained from a Joint External Evaluation (JEE) conducted in December 2024, which assessed Malawi’s health security across 19 technical areas, including prevention, detection, response, and other hazard management. Dr. Wilfred Chalamira on behalf of the Director for PHIM welcomed the participants and emphasised the importance of the event as it will have overall impact of the nations health.

    Multi-Sectoral Collaboration for “One Health”
    A diverse group of representatives from key government ministries and departments participated in the four-day orientation. Officials from the Ministries of Justice, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Climate Change, Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare, Treasury, and the Malawi Police Service, among others, highlighted the essential multisectoral nature of health security. This wide-ranging engagement directly addresses the identified need to strengthen coordination structures across different sectors at national and sub-national levels to implement a “One Health” framework.

    Deep Dive into Health Security
    On the first day, participants were introduced to the NAPHS processes, tools, and overall context. Dr. Gertrude Chapotera from WHO provided an introduction to the NAPHS, while Dr. Herbert Bakiika from the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI), Uganda, demonstrated the application of NAPHS development templates. The afternoon was dedicated to the critical task of selecting and identifying priority activities, informed by various assessment reports, including the JEE and COVID-19 reports.
    The JEE from December 2024 praised Malawi’s strengths, such as the establishment of PHIM and the operationalization of Public Health Emergency Operations Centers (PHEOCs). Strong capacities in disease surveillance, laboratory services, and multi-sectoral collaboration were also noted. However, the JEE also pinpointed critical areas needing immediate attention, including strengthening legal and regulatory frameworks, ensuring sustainable financing, and expanding training and capacity-building. This workshop directly aimed to address the recommendation to develop a costed NAPHS to outline national IHR gaps and priorities and facilitate resource mobilization.

    Addressing Climate Change and Prioritizing Actions
    The second day saw participants continue to identify and prioritize activities based on comprehensive assessment reports. A significant session integrated Climate Change and Health into the National Action Plan for Health Security, led by Halcycon from Uganda. This integration acknowledges Malawi’s high vulnerability to climate threats, being ranked 5th on the Global Climate Risk Index (2021) and having faced numerous climate-related disasters in recent years. The majority of the day was spent in group work, prioritizing NAPHS activities by technical area, taking into account recommendations from the JEE. For instance, the need to develop and implement a national multi-sectoral strategic plan for Points of Entry (PoEs) was discussed, and efforts to fast-track the enactment of the Public Health Act were highlighted as crucial for strengthening legal instruments.

    Synergies, Coordination, and Costing
    The third day was primarily dedicated to extensive group work, where participants aligned priority actions to identify synergies, prevent duplication, and efficiently compile detailed NAPHS activities. This is especially relevant given the JEE’s findings on fragmented legal instruments for biosafety and biosecurity and the need for a consolidated inventory of high-consequence pathogens. Strengthening multi-sectoral coordination mechanisms was identified as a key priority to promote effective collaboration across different sectors, including developing and formalizing a One Health platform structure.

    On the final day, participants compiled detailed cost assumptions per technical area for each detailed NAPHS activity. The workshop officially concluded with the submission of completed NAPHS templates to the NAPHS Secretariat. This directly addresses the urgent need for a costed NAPHS to facilitate resource mobilization and ensure various sectors mainstream and leverage their resources to address identified gaps. Looking ahead, strategic actions for “Legal Instruments” include engagement meetings with stakeholders and lobbying parliamentary committees for the enactment of the Public Health Act. Further plans include conducting Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), Vaccination & Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) trainings, extending training for early warning surveillance functions, and increasing national coverage for electronic laboratory information management systems (LIMS).

    Efforts in Biosafety and Biosecurity will focus on consolidating the inventory of high-consequence pathogens and finalizing legal frameworks, ultimately aiming to strengthen the linkage between public health and security authorities for a rapid multisectoral response to suspected or confirmed biological, chemical, or radiological events.

  • PHIM Enhances Chitipa and Karonga Preparedness and response capability for Cholera, Mpox, and Marburg.

    PHIM Enhances Chitipa and Karonga Preparedness and response capability for Cholera, Mpox, and Marburg.

    Cholera, Mpox, and Marburg Training.

    Chitipa, Malawi – March 7th, 2025.
    by
    Moses Nyambalo Phiri in collaboration with Chriswell Nkoloma and Settie Kanyanda.

    In a proactive approach to enhance the country’s response to public health emergencies, the Public Health Institute of Malawi (PHIM), with support from AMREF, conducted crucial training sessions in  Karonga and Chitipa districts. These sessions focused on cholera, Mpox, and Marburg.

    These activities aim to ensure that healthcare workers can effectively manage cases, strengthen surveillance and contact tracing, improve laboratory diagnostics, and educate communities on preventive measures for Mpox, Marburg, and Cholera.

    From May 6th to 7th, 2025, Public Health Emergency Management Committees and District Rapid Response Teams in the two districts were refreshed on their roles and responsibilities. Subsequently, from May 8th to 14th, frontline healthcare workers, including clinicians, nurses, health surveillance assistants, laboratory staff, and data clerks, received specialized training on sample collection, clinical case management, data reporting etc.

    Mr. Chriwell Nkoloma presenting on Mpox Global Overview and Malawi Situation to the Chitipa DRRT.

    Officers from the national level, comprising experts from various pillars such as Case Management, Surveillance, Laboratory, IPC, Vaccination, RCCE, and Points of Entry, facilitated the PHEMC and DRRT meetings. District-level staff then conducted further orientations for healthcare workers at the facility level, with participation from the Department of Animal Health and Livestock development personnel.

    The training of frontline health care workers was conducted in 5 sessions for Karonga and 4 sessions for Chitipa, with 181 and 125 participants, respectively.

    Hester Mkwinda Nyasulu, Amref Country Director – Malawi.

    “Karonga and Chitipa districts are the first ever districts to have their frontline health workers trained on Mpox and Marburg, so the future plan is to reach out to all the districts in Malawi with this training.” Remarks from Hester Mkwinda Nyasulu, Amref Country Director – Malawi.