EPI LAMP

Strong, high-performing immunization teams are critical for the effective and efficient management of immunization programs, and the achievement of population health outcomes. Achieving immunization program targets requires development of leadership and management capacity within immunization teams, grounded in the latest scientific evidence on organizational performance.

To meet this need GHLI has partnered with the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Rwanda, University of Yaoundé in Cameroon and PATH to deliver a practical and comprehensive professional development program for both Anglophone and Francophone countries. The EPI Leadership and Management Program (EPI LAMP) represents a flagship investment by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance in the systems and capacities needed to achieve immunization program targets at scale. Additionally, the investment promotes equitable access to leadership and management across

We engage small teams of immunization team senior managers and Ministry officials with responsibility for immunization program performance. Our team-based, blended learning model includes e-learning modules and three in-person forums, creating an educational experience that is interactive, practical, and aligned with participants' full-time work demands and priorities. At the heart of the EPI LAMP experience is the "breakthrough project," a mentored field project in which participants move through the strategic problem-solving process, using data-driven approaches to define and address key barriers to immunization program success.

Upon completion of the 9-month, team-based, certificate program, teams will emerge prepared to manage the increasingly complex immunization system in their home countries, with attention to efficient operations, robust performance management and improvement, and effective political engagement and advocacy.

Thus far, teams from Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, the Gambia, Guinea, India, Kiribati, Liberia, Myanmar, Rwanda, Solomon Islands, Tanzania and Zambia have participated in the program.

In September 2018, teams from The Gambia, India, Liberia, Rwanda, and Zambia convened in Kigali, Rwanda for the 2^nd of 3 in-person forums. During the 5-day training, teams worked through leadership and management modules covering strategic problem solving, human resource management, financial management and foundations of leadership. The teams also continued working on national breakthrough projects that address aspects of national EPI programme performance including increasing specific vaccine coverage, decreasing vaccine dropout rates and increasing full immunization coverage for children under the age of 2. Teams also conducted a site visit to ZipLine, a company that operates the world’s only national drone delivery system sending blood and vaccines to rural hospitals and clinics. The teams will convene for a final time in Rwanda at the beginning of December.

• Strategic thinking & problem solving
• Fundamentals of leadership
• Human resource management
• Financial planning and budgeting
• Performance management and accountability
• Political engagement, analysis, and dialogue

EPI LAMP is evaluated using a mixed-methods developmental design grounded in GHLI’s extensive expertise in implementation science. The evaluation uses consistent measures across all EPI LAMP cohorts to allow cross-cohort comparisons and learning over time. Results include improved problem solving, enhanced attention to team dynamics and a more nuanced vision of leadership among delegates.

• Reaching Across the Linguistic Divide in Management and Leadership Education. E. Linnander, S. Kwedi Nolna, A. Mwinsongo, K. Bechtold, and Y. Boum; The Lancet Global Health, 2019; 7(9): e1177.