Immunization and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Coverage and Transforming Services (IMPACT) Project
The Immunization and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Coverage and Transforming Services (IMPACT) project is targeted at promoting the uptake of malaria prevention and treatment services especially in rural communities with high malaria burden in collaboration with the National Malaria Elimination Program (NMEP).
Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) has been engaged by the Ondo State Ministry of Health to implement the project with the following objectives:
- Promoting the use of Long-Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLIN) by pregnant women and children under 5 years of age.
- Strengthening the case management skills of both public and private providers on the Integrated Management of Childhood Diseases (IMCI).
- Sensitizing households on malaria prevention through the use of LLINs and the use of Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) and Seasonal Malaria Chemoprophylaxis (SMC).
- Sensitizing households on the use of appropriate malaria care-seeking and treatment.
- Distributing malaria control commodities and medicines for the management of malaria.
- Carrying out SMC to prevent malaria infection among the most vulnerable (children under five) during the malaria high transmission season
Nationwide, the IMPACT project is being implemented for anti-malaria interventions in Abia, Borno Ekiti, Imo, Lagos, Rivers, Bayelsa, Edo, Enugu, Kogi, Ondo states and the Federal Capital Territory with funding support from the World Bank and Islamic Development Bank. The Project duration is for 12 months – Nov 2024 to Oct 2025.
ASPIRE Project
The ACTION to Sustain Precision and Integrated HIV Response towards Epidemic Control (ASPIRE) project that we implement is funded by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC).
The project is currently focused in four states, Nasarawa State, Rivers State, Kastina State and the Federal Capital Territory. It is aimed at
- Reducing mortality of people living with HIV (PLHIV) by providing services for them to know their HIV status and be linked to quality sustained treatment.
- Improving the quality of life of people living with HIV: 95% of clients identified are to be linked to treatment, be virally suppressed and reduce further transmission including elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
- Increasing uptake of prevention services including Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis by those at risk especially key population and underserved groups such as adolescents.
- Strengthening laboratory capacity to achieve quality clinical management for HIV and other health challenges.
- Empowering quality health care and sustainable culture of excellence in the management of HIV through Continuous Quality Improvement.
- Strengthening the capacity of the Government of Nigeria for a sustainable HIV program: flowing out of a strengthened health care enterprise is the capacity of the Government of Nigeria to embrace a sustainability plan for leadership, governance, and informed investment in HIV programs.
ASPIRE project provides the following services in the health facilities we support: HIV Testing Services (HTS), laboratory diagnosis and tracking of status of people living with HIV, prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, Anti-retroviral Treatment (ART) for adult and children (including pregnant women), care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS and people affected by HIV/AIDS, monitoring and evaluation of patients and program progress, support to Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC), gender-Based Violence (GBV) support services and training in all the above areas.
ASPIRE project is follow on project to ACHIEVE (2017-2022), ACTIONPlusUp (2012 -2017), ACTIONPlus (2010-2012) and AIDS Care and Treatment in Nigeria (ACTION) projects (2004 to 2010).
Project Title
Strengthening the resilience of vulnerable groups through malaria prevention services and food security
Project aim
To strengthen the resilience of 1,200 vulnerable households, including women and children, in 20 communities in Nasarawa and Katsina to use improved sustainable agriculture and malaria prevention practices to improve their food and nutrition security and health in the long term
Objectives
- To empower about 80% (960 out of 1,200) of the vulnerable households with the capacity to diversify their food supply by growing their own vegetables and/or fruits and/or animal products from livestock farming.
- To ensure about 80% (960 out of 1,200) of vulnerable households consume at least two meals a day that contain nutritious (particularly vitamin- and protein-rich) food.
- To ensure approx. 50% (600 of 1200) households are using effective malaria prevention measures (use of ITNs, residual sprays).
- To train individuals from at least 600 households to conduct at least one training per community, actively sharing information on malaria prevention with other community members.
Implementation State
- Katsina and Nasarawa
Strategies for implementation
- Integrated Trainings of households on
- Malaria prevention measures
- financial and business management for income generating activities to aid marketing of additional farm produce
- Nutrition including food demonstrations and preparation of nutritious combination from locally available food to prevent malnutrition
- Strengthening WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and soap production
- Training and provision of starter kits for home gardening, community gardening and livestock farming
- Agricultural training on food processing, packaging and marketing, imparting knowledge to sustainably increase productivity through diversification and application of modern farming/ cultivation techniques.
- Awareness creation campaigns through radio jingles and IEC materials on malaria prevention, food and nutrition security and hygiene measures
- Establishment of community gardens, home gardens and livestock farming
- Distribution of indoor residual sprays
- Home visits, referral and linkages
Duration of project: 5 Years
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Grant Cycle 7 (GC7) Project
The Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria (IHVN), funded by The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, is set to implement the Grant Cycle 7 (GC7) grant. This combined effort for tuberculosis (TB) and HIV is pivotal for the transformation of TB and HIV programs. Under the guidance of the National AIDS and STDs Control Programme (NASCP), the National TB and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP), and the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), this project aims to increase the identification of all forms of TB in both the private sector and the community.
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EXPAND Project
Expanding the Pool of Independent Investigators in Implementation Science in Nigeria through HIV Research training – EXPAND Nigeria: Fogarty HIV Research Training Program for Low-and Middle-Income Country Institutions (EXPAND)
EXPAND Nigeria seeks to increase local expertise in responding to Nigeria’s HIV epidemic by addressing research leadership gaps among investigators, program evaluation and knowledge translation gaps among implementers and policymakers.
The study aims are:
Aim 1: To launch a 12-month, soft and hard skills Implementation Science-integrated HIV research training curriculum at the International Research Center of Excellence of the Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria, delivered on a hybrid virtual and in-person platform.
Aim 2: To mentor and develop a cohort of five early career MD and/or PhD scientists trained with the Aim 1 curriculum, to compete for independent research funding that addresses HIV research priorities relevant to Nigeria.
Aim 3: To transition skilled early career investigators from Aim 2 into active and productive research positions at the International Research Center of Excellence of the Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria and collaborating academic and public health institutions in Nigeria.
Aim 4: Using the hard skills modules from the Aim 1 curriculum, provide short-term, six-month training for a multidisciplinary cohort of 40 program implementers and policymakers to design and conduct IS-informed priority HIV program evaluations and translate evidence into policy and practice.
The project, which is funded by the US National Institutes of Health, runs from 2022 to 2027.
INFORM Africa
The Role of Data Streams in Informing Infection Dynamics in Africa (INFORM Africa) is aimed at establishing data streams from public and private sectors to understand the multi-layer interactions that may explain the dynamics and impact of COVID19 pandemic. This is to be achievement through three proposed research projects and two proposed cores, supplemented by the pilot projects.
Project objectives include:
- Development of geospatial tools for use by country leadership and governments in pandemic surveillance and response to improve preparedness.
- Expansion of data science research opportunities and capacity through the engagement with the broader Data Science for Health Discovery and Innovation in Africa (DS-I-Africa) and through several proposed pilot projects in data science.
- Maintenance of sustained engagement with the policy makers and governments to promote further open access to high quality data, redistribution and uptake of any product/tool developed by the INFORM Africa.
Study countries are, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia and the duration of study is from 2022 to 2026.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health problem, especially in Africa and Asia attributed in part to the abuse of and unfettered access to antimicrobials in humans and animals. Pharmacies and medicine vendors in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) contribute to the overuse of antibiotics by selling over the counter.
The A-STEP study is a pre-post interventional study in three Nigerian states Lagos, Abuja and Kano. The primary goal is to develop, pilot and assess the impact of a scalable educational intervention on over the counter antibiotic dispensing among pharmacists and patent medicine vendors, using “Standardized Patients” to measure outcomes of interest. This work will be complemented with an integrated knowledge translation plan, focusing on relevant national and local policy bodies, as well as professional and patient groups, to promote the adoption and enforcement of more restrictive regulations on antibiotic sales.
VERDI Consortium MPox Research Project
IRCE-IHVN has a VERDI sub-award to contribute Nigerian data to a global pediatric mpox registry, conduct qualitative studies on mpox in the Nigerian context, and to develop research tools and a master protocol for an observational study of mpox among pregnant women in Nigeria. This study seeks to preempt future infectious disease outbreaks by consolidating pandemic preparedness measures. Given its track record of impactful infectious disease research, the International Research Centre of Excellence (IRCE) at the Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria (IHVN) was invited to join the VERDI consortium in 2022.
The European Union-funded VERDI Consortium comprises nearly 30 teams of researchers from 16 countries in Europe, Africa, North America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia (https://verdiproject.org/consortium/).
The VERDI country Principal Investigator for Nigeria is Dr. Nadia A. Sam-Agudu,
CAMP Project
The Canada-Africa Monkeypox Partnership (CAMP) is aimed at characterizing transmission dynamics and evaluating medical countermeasures to inform the clinical and public health response to m-pox. CAMP project is a twining study between Nigeria and Canada. This study is being jointly carried out by both countries.
Project objectives in Nigeria include to:
- Characterize and compare Mpox transmission dynamics and serologic histories across epidemic contexts.
- Do formative research on readiness for trials of MPX therapeutics/vaccines in Nigeria and
- To determine MPX vaccine acceptability among adults in Nigeria
The Nigerian team comprises of four institutions that are collectively responsible for the implementation and attainment of the specific aims of the study. These are the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), Slum and Rural Health Initiative Nigeria (SRHIN), and the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN). Cohort 1 of the CAMP project is being implemented in Abuja, Bayelsa, Delta and Lagos States, while Cohort 2 is being implemented in Abuja and Lagos.
Amongst other things, understanding Mpox Transmission Dynamics in Nigeria should lead to the
- Development of targeted public health interventions that can lead to more effective prevention and control strategies, reducing the incidence of Mpox.
- Optimized diagnostic yield to enhance the capacity for early detection and surveillance of Mpox.
- Contributing to the scientific knowledge of the understanding of Mpox transmission in the Nigerian population and providing a foundation for future research on Mpox in Nigeria.
- Building local capacity and strengthening the healthcare infrastructure to better handle future outbreaks of Mpox and other infectious diseases.
- Community engagement and education efforts as part of the study to raise awareness about Mpox transmission, symptoms, and prevention
- Empowerment of At-Risk Populations, such as sexual gender minority communities, in the research process to actively participate in efforts to control and prevent Mpox thereby fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Darrell Tan,
Co-Investigators: Dr. Evaezi Okpokoro, Dr. Ezenwa James Onyemata
Project Funders and collaborators: CIHR/IDRC
Project Duration: 2023-2024
NORA Study
The Network for Oncology Research in Sub-Sahara Africa (NORA Study) aims to contribute to reducing the mortality of Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer in partner countries through research, capacity building, networking, policy engagement, and research transfer.
In Nigeria, the focus is on research, capacity building, and networking. In research, the project is committed to establishing evidence-based breast cancer and cervical cancer screening and treatment pathways applicable in sub-Saharan Africa.
In the area of capacity building, the project involves opinion leaders, and policymakers in fostering women’s decision to seek cervical cancer and breast cancer screening. It is also using rapid ethnographic and action approaches (REAP) to understand what determinants underly the intention to seek screening among women using an integrated behavioral model with culture and stigma domain determinants.
Another area under the work package of capacity building is designing and implementing a context-adaptable intervention and evaluating the feasibility, adoption, and sustainability of the interventions. The study will undertake a qualitative systematic review of literature to identify the personal and health system needs of family caregivers of cancer patients at end-of-life in the home setting. It will provide evidence for the integration of Indigenous and local community resources and infrastructure into cancer-directed palliative care services, design and implement contextually appropriate palliative care interventions for cancer care and evaluate the feasibility, adoption, and sustainability of the intervention.
In the networking workstream, NORA Study will determine periods from symptom self-detection to first contact with the health system to confirmed diagnosis of suspicious breast lesion. This is to identify modifiable barriers and enablers to early-stage diagnosis. It will explore from different perspectives to improving cervical cancer screening, treatment, and follow-up in primary healthcare clinics.
The NORA consortium involves five countries; Nigeria, Germany, South Africa, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and AFCRN-Lyon (France). In Nigeria, we are implementing in FCT, Rivers and Nasarawa States. It is funded by GIZ/ German Government.
ENHANCE
The Enhanced and Sustainable Integrated Laboratory Services for HIV, TB, and Other Pathogens in Nigeria (ENHANCE).
ENHANCE supports the Government of Nigeria to reach HIV epidemic control and strengthen its response to HIV, TB, and other diseases of public health significance on a backbone of an optimized centralized laboratory information management system that links data on tracking of sample receipt, testing, generation and return of test results, commodity utilization and tracking, and equipment utilization. Through the utilization of improved and expanded dashboards with real-time or near real-time information, ENHANCE provides laboratory services and system strengthening for
- High quality integrated laboratory diagnostic and surveillance services for TB and HIV diagnosis, HIV test and Early Infant Diagnosis (EID)], monitoring for viral suppression – Viral Load (VL) including Infant Viral Load (IVT), HIV drug resistance and diagnostics of other diseases of public health significance in partnership with the government of Nigeria (GON) and with guidance from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Improved coordination, supervision and mentoring by appropriate agencies of the Government of Nigeria and health facilities.
- Expanded internal and external quality assurance processes leading to ISO accreditation of selected CDC-supported molecular laboratories.
- Improved laboratory commodity utilization and monitoring; and
- Improved infection, prevention and control through occupational health, patient safety, and effective waste management at CDC-supported Molecular laboratories.
Project objectives are to implement an integrated molecular diagnostic testing for HIV, TB, and other diseases of public health importance, strengthen laboratory quality management system and External Quality Assurance program, strengthen laboratory biosafety/biosecurity, waste management, Infection Prevention Control and occupational health practices across supported laboratories, enhance and strengthen systems for equipment utilization and efficiency and enhance and strengthen procurement and supply chain management systems.
- Principal Investigator: Alash’le Abimiku
- Project Funders and collaborators: CDC
- Project Duration: 2022-2027
- Places of implementation (states, facilities)- Rivers, Kaduna and Gombe states. Facilities: Rivers State University Teaching Hospital -Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH), Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) and Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH) Gombe.
General Data Sharing Plan (GDSR)
The General Data Sharing Plan (GDSR) project aims to conduct a geospatially targeted malaria
Genomic surveillance at the community level, link and optimize the systems which are currently in place, visualize, assess and operationalize geospatial and temporal genomics surveillance data with other malaria data streams through the REVEAL Geospatial visualization and planning platform.
Akros, Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), and West Africa Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) are collaborating to enable the existing community-level malaria genomic surveillance for detection and response to emerging antimalarial resistance in Ghana.
Through a geo-enabled surveillance system, malaria program managers and researchers in Ghana will be able to visualize mapped patterns of antimalarial resistance, which is currently impossible. GDSR will provide timely access to critical evidence to guide national malaria control programs (NMCP) decision-making for malaria program response and adaptation.
- Principal Investigator: Alash’le Abimiku, Prof. Anna Winters, Prof. Charles Michelo and Prof. Gordon Awandare
- Project Funders and collaborators- NIH
- Project Duration- 2024-2026
Ensuring Quality Access and Learning for Mothers and Newborns in Conflict-Affected Contexts (EQUAL) is a multi-country research project aimed at improving maternal and newborn health in conflict-affected countries.
Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) is participating in this research which is funded by UK Aid from the UK government and led by the International Rescue Committee. Other EQUAL partners are Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and its university-wide Center for Humanitarian Health, the Somali Research and Development Institute, and Université Catholique de Bukavu (Democratic Republic of Congo).
The project is aimed at identifying and filling evidence gaps that could ultimately improve policies, programming, and outcomes for mothers and newborns. It will focus its research around the day of birth and the first week of life — the timeframe with the highest number of newborn deaths globally.
In Nigeria, IHVN is conducting a five-year assessment of the recently implemented Community Midwifery program to examine the effectiveness of midwives in addressing gaps in maternal and neonatal health within rural communities of Yobe State. Of particular interest are factors affecting the midwifery workforce, participation, retention, performance, and personal resilience during periods of increased insecurity
The project is in collaboration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, the Government of Yobe State and Faculty of Shehu Sule College of Nursing and Midwifery