Leveraging COVID-19 Response to Boost Primary Health Care
Six ways USAID is helping countries integrate the urgent 2020–2022 response efforts into health systems for the long term
Over the past three years, the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the global landscape and stressed many already weak health systems beyond their capacity, threatening the development gains of recent decades. The United States has been at the forefront of the global COVID-19 response, working to fight the disease in more than 120 countries.
With USAID support — through efforts like Global VAX — many countries have made strong progress to curb COVID-19 transmission through mass vaccination campaigns and extensive community outreach efforts. Given the success of vaccination acceleration efforts to increase coverage, countries are now turning to new approaches to ensure the continuity of these life-saving services. USAID activities are now working to strengthen health systems capacity in the long-run, by incorporating new training, skills, and technology as part of routine delivery of primary health care.
The evolving pandemic now requires a shift to an integrated approach that builds on previous pandemic response efforts and incorporates COVID-19 detection, prevention, vaccination, testing, and treatment.
Stronger health systems will deliver services more efficiently and meet people’s needs in a more equitable way.
In line with USAID’s newly launched Policy Framework which puts an emphasis on thinking beyond traditional health programming, these successes can be harnessed to address numerous health needs. This will benefit primary health care (PHC) over the long term, including strengthening resilience to be able to respond to future health threats.
Here are six ways USAID is helping countries integrate COVID-19 response efforts as part of routine PHC.
1. Assessing site readiness
Recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all model for integrating COVID-19 response activities into health facilities, USAID supported the development and roll-out of an integration site readiness assessment tool in South Africa. Using the tool, USAID examined each facility’s adherence to regulations, staff capacity, supply chain management, demand for services, and vaccine safety measures.
USAID assessed each facility for its readiness to provide COVID-19 vaccinations and to identify other challenges in delivering care. Based on the results of these assessments, USAID is working alongside each facility to develop an action plan.
2. Strengthening cold chain equipment and maintenance
At the onset of COVID-19, many countries invested in strengthening cold chain equipment and processes — critical for COVID-19 vaccination storage and transport — to deliver vaccines to health facilities throughout the country. Today, USAID continues to help countries improve cold chain systems to better support COVID-19 vaccines and essential immunizations.
In Niger, for example, USAID is helping to reinforce skills and knowledge for improved management of supply chains. USAID is introducing cutting-edge approaches, and providing additional temperature monitoring to ensure vaccine potency.
3. Strengthening essential immunization
USAID is supporting countries to integrate COVID-19 vaccination into essential immunization services, with an emphasis on increasing access among high-risk populations.
In Lesotho, with USAID support, clinics and hospitals offer COVID-19 vaccination services in combination with other health interventions such as administration of Vitamin A supplements, tapeworm treatments, tetanus shots, and measles and rubella vaccinations. This integrated approach expanded access to measles and rubella vaccinations, while increasing locations to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to high risk populations seeking additional health services.
4. Reaching high-risk populations
People living with HIV are at higher risk for serious — and potentially life-threatening — complications should they become infected with COVID-19.
In Ethiopia, HIV prevention education sessions are an opportunity to teach clients about COVID-19 prevention and vaccination. Meanwhile, community outreach workers that routinely provide HIV services have been trained to offer COVID-19-related counseling and advocacy. Since September 2022, USAID has supported training for more than 2,000 health workers and volunteers in Ethiopia.
5. Expanding health information systems
Investments in COVID-19 data infrastructure have allowed some countries to upgrade health information systems and to integrate COVID-19 cases into existing systems.
In Indonesia, USAID assistance is helping systems that capture COVID-19 vaccine information to communicate with immunization tracking systems, improving the availability of COVID-19 data for health providers throughout the country. USAID is also supporting updates to an application that was primarily used for COVID-19 contact tracing, but has been expanded to capture vaccination status for COVID-19 as well as a pilot for routine childhood vaccinations.
6. Reinforcing comprehensive care
USAID is assisting countries to build on the lessons learned from COVID-19 care to strengthen health systems and PHC delivery, including training health workers on triage, testing, infection control, case management, and COVID-19 therapeutics.
In Nigeria, USAID worked with the Ministry of Health to improve the skills of over 1,000 health care workers in COVID-19 case management through training, clinical mentoring, and establishing a community of practice for COVID-19 care providers. These health workers will now be able to use these skills to provide comprehensive health care to patients beyond COVID-19 and respond to future pandemic threats.
About the Author
Cassie Vasiloff is the Senior Communications Advisor for USAID’s COVID-19 Response Team.
