USAID support in Guinea includes helping to build the capacity of public health systems by providing technical assistance, training, equipment, commodities and empowering communities to respond to health needs.

Ousmane Condé, USAID Guinea

In alignment with the Agency’s goal of Self Reliance USAID aims to build the capacity of Guineans to strengthen the health system for improved service delivery in close partnership with government institutions, donors, NGOs and FBOs, civil society, Building on over a decade of partnership and collaboration with the Government of Liberia (GOL) and Private Sector to foster good governance, transparency, accountability and equity in the provision of health services. Guinea is a priority President's Malaria Initiative country, focused on critical efforts that reduce maternal mortality, increase child survival and prevent and treat infectious disease. USAID seeks to sustain its longstanding investments in the health sector, with on-going post Ebola recovery activities; health system and services strengthening and recently the implementation of the Global Health Security Agenda to prevent, detect and respond to epidemics.

Malaria Treatment, Prevention and Control

USAID support to Malaria Treatment, Prevention and Control is provided through the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI). Launched in 2005 for  5 years, PMI is a $ 1.2 billion initiative with the objective of rapidly scaling up malaria prevention and treatment interventions and reduce malaria-related mortality by 50% in the 15 highest-burden countries in sub-Saharan.

Guinea was selected as a PMI partner country in June 2011. Guinea`s approximately 14 million people experience year-round transmissions with the highest risk of contracting the disease between July and October. Malaria is the number one public health problem in the country, taking more lives than any other disease. National statistics show that among children under the age of five years, malaria accounts for 31% of consultations, 25% of hospitalizations, and 14% of hospital deaths in public facilities. PMI intervenes in 14 out of 38 districts of the country and the 5 communes of Conakry which accounts for half of the country- the other half being supported by the Global Fund. Key interventions supported through PMI are: vector monitoring and control; Insecticide-treated nets; Malaria in pregnancy; case management; health system strengthening, social and behavior change Communication as well as entomological activities.

USAID's current health activities in Guinea include:

A- Health Services Delivery Project

The USAID Health Service Delivery Project (HSD) is the Mission’s flagship bilateral implementing mechanism supporting the collaborative development of Guinea’s health system. Activities under the HSD will ensure that an essential integrated care package for high quality family planning  and maternal, newborn and child health services are provided in health facilities and the surrounding communities in the regions of Boké, Conakry, Faranah, Kankan, Kindia, Labé, and Mamou. The integrated package is intended to be offered across the home-to- hospital continuum of care through which key project interventions will ensure that high quality care is available at each level, along with access to information and referrals for serious illnesses, obstetric fistula and long-acting and permanent family methods.

B- Promoting the Quality of Medicines (PQM/USP)

Like several African countries, Guinea is disproportionately affected by the burden of poor-quality medicines. Through this activity, USAID aims to strengthen the pharmaceutical system as part of the health system to ensure reliable access to quality-assured, safe, and efficacious essential medicines and to build up the country’s quality assurance (QA)/QC systems. PQM provides technical assistance to strengthen medicine regulatory authorities and quality assurance systems and supports manufacturing of quality-assured essential medicines for malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, neglected tropical diseases, and maternal and child health. The program partners with regulators and manufacturers to ensure that Guinea adopts international standards to guarantee quality medicines and increase the supply of priority medicines.

C- HRH2030: Human Resources for Health in 2030 - Capacity Building for Malaria

Human Resources for Health (HRH) 2030 is a five-year cooperative agreement that supports countries in developing the fit-for-purpose and fit-to-practice health workforce needed to achieve global health goals. Through HRH 2030, USAID strengthens the institutional and managerial capacities of the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) to improve country performance on grants from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) and overall effectiveness of their Malaria Control Program by adopting changes in policies or guidelines, improve t the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems, and reduce stock outs.

D- ENVISION

Provide assistance to the national Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) program (PNLOC/MTN) for the control and elimination of seven targeted NTDs: lymphatic filariasis, trachoma, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, and three soil-transmitted helminths (roundworm, hookworm, and whipworm). ENVISION contributes to the global goal of reducing the burden of targeted NTDs so that they are no longer a public health problem.

E- USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program (GHSC) - Procurement and Supply Management

The USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program-Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) was launched in Guinea in February 2017. The overall goal of GHSC-PSM is to ensure uninterrupted supplies of health commodities in support of U.S. Government (USG)-funded public health initiatives through the provision of health commodity procurement services and related systems-strengthening technical assistance encompassing all elements of a comprehensive supply chain which includes forecasting, procurement, distribution, logistics management.

F- Ebola Pillar II Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Contract

Provide evaluation, routine monitoring, data quality assurance, and improved knowledge management and learning support to USAID Mission and Implementing Partners under the Ebola Pillar II programs.

G- Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA)

Infectious disease threats have the potential to endanger lives and disrupt economies, travel, trade, and the food supply. Outbreaks do not respect national boundaries and can spread rapidly jeopardizing the health, security, and prosperity of the United States. It is in the national security interest of the United States to strengthen global health security and manage the risk of infectious disease outbreaks. Through the Global Health Security Agenda, USAID works collaboratively with the Ministries of Health, Livestock and Environment to improve the GOG’s capacity to prevent, detect and respond to outbreaks. Assistance is provided in the areas of lab and surveillance system, workforce development, emergency management, zoonotic disease prevention, immunization system, biosafety and biosecurity system.

a- Emergency Pandemic Threat (EPT)

Support efforts to combat emerging and or re-emerging high impact infectious diseases. It will also address relations between livestock and livelihoods in terms of reducing negative impacts and increasing nutrition security. It also aims at building and pandemics on sustainable food strengthening basic capacity in animal health to detect early and respond rapidly to emerging disease crises threatening animal and human health.

b- PREDICT-2

PREDICT -2 is a worldwide collaboration to detect zoonotic diseases at the wildlife–human interface. In the 7 years since it began, PREDICT has worked with more than 30 countries to develop and employ standardized approaches for collecting and sharing data across One Health platforms. The goal of PREDICT-2 is to "Improve characterization of biological and behavioral risks to better understand which locations, “epidemiological zones, or interfaces are most associated with spillover, amplification, and spread of zoonotic viruses with pandemic potential."

c- Infectious Disease Detection and Surveillance (IDDS)

IDDS aims to operationalize global and U.S. Government initiatives and strategies to reduce global health threats posed by infectious diseases, focusing on strengthening of disease detection networks and surveillance systems, including One Health networks to address zoonotic and emerging diseases with the following goals:

• Improve the detection of diseases of public health importance and identification of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in priority infectious diseases through an accessible, accurate, adaptable, timely, and integrated diagnostic network system.
• Improve the quality of real-time surveillance systems for pathogens of greatest public health concern, including AMR and zoonotic diseases.
• Generate evidence-based guidance and innovative solutions to strengthen in-country diagnostic networks and surveillance systems.

d- Community Epidemics Pandemic Preparedness Program (CP3)

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has long focused on helping communities prepare and respond to health emergencies through its 190 Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies. IFRC launched the Community Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness Program (CP3) in 2017 with funding from the USAID to scales up that effort. The program strengthens the ability of communities, National Societies and other partners in 8 target countries to prevent, detect and respond to disease threats and play a significant role in preparing for future risks. The new program will strengthen communities’ One Health preparedness and response for epidemics and pandemics and help re-establish trust between government and citizens. 

e- Breakthrough Action

The project aims to ignite collective action using next generation behavior change approaches to empower households and communities to become healthier and more prosperous. While the work will harness the power of communication – from mass media campaigns to community outreach – to inspire long-lasting change, the project will also take advantage of other innovative approaches such as market science, behavioral economics and human-centered design to drive progress. Using this state-of-the-art, evidence-based tools, Breakthrough ACTION will have a global reach and will work in partnership with host governments to encourage people in developing countries to adopt healthy behaviors, from using modern contraceptive methods and sleeping under bed nets, and preventing the spread of zoonotic diseases.