New Project Announcement (ARISE): Call for Input

Africa Routine Immunization System Essentials (ARISE) Project [[email protected]][email protected][/email] The ARISE project is a two-year learning initiative, managed by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. JSI is partnering with AED-ARTS, LLC on the project. ARISE is also in the process of identifying an African organization and a research institute as collaborators on the project. ARISE will work with partners and stakeholders to identify, review and document promising interventions leading to improved and sustained routine immunization (RI) system performance in sub-Saharan Africa. While promising interventions and innovations are taking place throughout the region, many have not been systematically captured nor shared. The project will explore how promising interventions are being implemented, adapted, diffused, sustained and scaled up. Evidence-based solutions will be translated into clear and focused options for investments by global, national and local communities. As a first step, ARISE is conducting a Landscape Analysis to identify a wide range of promising interventions, innovations, and factors in RI system performance as candidates for further, in-depth exploration. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ARISE is requesting information from your own experiences on specific interventions, innovations and factors in RI performance. Identified cases should focus on improved RI systems and a range of possible underlying elements/drivers such as governance/coordination structures, policy, planning and management, demand, advocacy and communications, staffing structures, budgeting/financing, supplies/logistics, data use, etc. Based on the information acquired on promising cases, the project will seek to describe the current status of the interventions (e.g., design, piloting/testing, early implementation); scale of application (e.g., community, sub-district, district, national); and the existing evidence base. Please send available information to [[email protected]][email protected][/email] by March 15th, 2010 along with contact information. Project staff may follow-up with you to acquire more detailed information, for example on the current status of the intervention, scale of application and existing evidence base. We thank you in advance for your attention and participation. For more details, please contact Robert Steinglass, ARISE Project Director, at [[email protected]][email protected][/email]. Thank you for your input. Stay tuned for updates on this new project!