28 November 2023; OSLO, Norway; SEOUL, Republic of Korea; SERREKUNDA, Republic of The Gambia: The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Republic of Korea-based International Vaccine Institute (IVI) and Gambia’s Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia (MRCG) today announced the launch of the Research Preparedness Program West Africa (RPPWA). IVI, as the ‘Technical Coordinating Partner’, alongside MRCG will co-lead the RPPWA, supporting a consortium of regional stakeholders to bolster the capacity of clinical research sites across West Africa to conduct large-scale clinical trials of vaccines against Lassa fever and future disease outbreaks which might threaten the region.
Dr Richard Hatchett, Chief Executive Officer, CEPI, said: “CEPI, IVI and MRC Gambia will work with partners across West Africa to bolster the region’s growing clinical research sector, so it is ready to tackle both known and future viral threats. The Programme’s first priority is to assist regional stakeholders to prepare clinical trial sites to conduct the first-ever Phase 2b and Phase 3 clinical trials of a Lassa fever vaccine in the region, for the region, bringing protection against this potentially deadly disease one step closer for people across West Africa. Looking to the future, the strengthened research capacity and capability will heighten outbreak preparedness in the region with the aim of generating high-quality clinical trial data during regional disease outbreaks in as little as 100 days.”
Dr Florian Marks, Deputy Director General of Epidemiology, Public Health, Impact at IVI, said: “IVI has been actively engaging with partners across West Africa for decades, jointly conducting multi-country disease surveillance and vaccine effectiveness studies in the region. As the Technical Coordinating Partner and co-lead of the Research Preparedness Program West Africa with MRCG, IVI looks forward to this collaborative effort to build up clinical capacity and resilience against vaccine-preventable infectious diseases, focusing on Lassa fever and other priority diseases in the region.”
His colleague, Dr Birkneh Tadesse, Head of Real-World Evidence, IVI, added: “Our activities in the region will extend beyond supporting current and future Lassa fever vaccine studies, encompassing systems- and infrastructure-strengthening across West African study sites. With mechanisms in place to both standardize and accelerate the R&D ecosystem, this “Track B” component of the program will be essential for regional pandemic preparedness, in line with CEPI’s 100 Days Mission.”
Professor Ed Clarke, Vaccines and Immunity Theme Lead, MRCG said: “We are thrilled to be co-leading this unique initiative in West Africa. Anyone with knowledge of the clinical research environment in the sub-region and how it has developed, even in the last decade, will recognize the wealth of talent, capacity and potential which already exists. We hope our long-standing clinical vaccine trial, research, and capacity building experience in the sub-region will allow us to further support the development of the vaccine-research ecosystem here, while I am certain we will equally benefit from the expertise of other West African partners, as well as from IVI and additional stakeholders. The ambitious goals set for Lassa fever vaccine development, and for the delivery of vaccines for future disease outbreaks, require coordinated effort and we look forward to contributing to this exciting and forward-thinking consortium”.
Dr Armel Zemsi, Head of the clinical trials unit, MRCG said: “At MRCG, we view this exciting program and dynamic partnership initiated by CEPI as an exceptional opportunity to fortify West Africa and empower the region to assume a pivotal and proactive role in preventing and responding to potential pandemics. To achieve the goal of this project, together with IVI, we will leverage our extensive collective experience in developing clinical trials capabilities and achieving clinical trials readiness in resources-constrained settings.”
Dr Virgil Lokossou, Ag Executive Director, ECOWAS Regional Center for Surveillance and Disease Control, added: “Investing in late-stage clinical trials, trial sites and production capacity for endemic infectious disease products will be crucial for improving access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics across Africa, and is an important priority for the West African Health Organization and ECOWAS Member States. We welcome the news from CEPI, IVI, and the MRCG on their Research Preparedness Program in West Africa, which will ultimately be implemented through West African expertise and ownership. By leveraging already existing clinical trial capabilities, the Program will help to solidify the late-stage clinical infrastructure required to develop safe and effective vaccines and, in doing so, support West Africa to combat future infectious diseases outbreaks faster and more equitably. We look forward to working more closely with CEPI and its partners as the Program progresses.”
Supported by US$3.9 million of CEPI funding, the RPPWA will lay the groundwork for the first-ever high-quality, multi-country Phase 2b and Phase 3 trials to evaluate the efficacy of Lassa vaccines. Such trials are a prerequisite to a Lassa vaccine being approved by regulatory authorities, and can only take place in countries in West Africa where the potentially deadly virus is circulating. The RPPWA will work with partners across the region to strengthen existing clinical trial infrastructure in West Africa, while also establishing additional Good Clinical Practice-compliant Phase 2b/3 trial facilities capable of conducting the crucial research that will advance a Lassa vaccine on its path to licensure.
The RPPWA will also support long-term outbreak preparedness in the region by helping to prepare sustainable clinical trial facilities that can rapidly generate vaccine data against future viral threats, primarily through strengthening existing research capacity. The consortium will build upon the clinical trial infrastructure developed to conduct Phase 2b and Phase 3 Lassa fever vaccine trials in the region and develop procedures, governance structures and pre-agreed clinical trial protocols that would enable rapid evidence generation in response to outbreaks of known and unknown pathogens. Having such high-quality clinical trial capacity at the ready in outbreak-prone areas, so that vaccine trials can begin within weeks of a new outbreak, has been identified as a crucial enabler of the 100 Days Mission: a global goal, spearheaded by CEPI and embraced by the G7 and G20, to deliver pandemic vaccines in just 100 days.
Leveraging local and regional expertise to support greater outbreak preparedness
IVI will act as the Technical Coordinating Partner and, with MRCG, will co-lead the RPPWA which additional partners are expected to join. Both institutions have extensive experience implementing clinical research and vaccine trials in the West Africa region, with a track record of promoting local guidance and ownership. As co-leads for the RPPWA, the organisations will closely engage regional stakeholders to ensure cohesion with other regional funders and stakeholders in the outbreak preparedness ecosystem; and ensure local ownership of the RPPWA’s activities and investments.
As a first step, the co-leads will initiate discussions with local and regional partners in West African countries to jointly develop plans that will strengthen sustainable clinical research capacity and long-term outbreak preparedness in the region. Infrastructure that is established as a result of the Program will be accessible to external stakeholders conducting clinical research in the region, subject to availability.
The RPPWA has been established in response to a Request for Proposals launched by CEPI in May 2023. West Africa will be the first region where the Research Preparedness Program will launch, but the intention is to expand this approach to other underserved regions across the Global South in the future.
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About CEPI
CEPI is an innovative partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil organisations, launched at Davos in 2017. Its mission is to accelerate the development of vaccines and other biologic countermeasures against epidemic and pandemic threats so they can be accessible to all people in need.
CEPI has supported the development of over 30 vaccine candidates against its priority pathogens—Chikungunya virus, Ebola Virus Disease, Lassa virus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, Nipah virus, Rift Valley Fever virus and SARS-CoV-2—and is advancing the development of rapid response platforms to develop vaccines against Disease X (the threat of an unknown virus). CEPI played a central role in the global response to COVID-19, co-leading COVAX and supporting a broad portfolio of vaccines, seven of which have been approved for domestic or global use. It is a leading funder of research into vaccines which could offer broad protection against COVID-19 variants and other betacoronaviruses.
Central to CEPI’s pandemic-beating five-year plan for 2022-2026 is the ‘100 Days Mission’ to compress the time taken to develop safe, effective, globally accessible vaccines against new threats to just 100 days, which has been embraced by the G7 and G20.
Visit our news page for the latest updates. Follow us via @CEPIvaccines, @DrRHatchett, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
About International Vaccine Institute (IVI)
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is a non-profit international organization established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme with a mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health.
IVI’s current portfolio includes vaccines at all stages of pre-clinical and clinical development for infectious diseases that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries, such as cholera, typhoid, chikungunya, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, hepatitis E, HPV, COVID-19, and more. IVI developed the world’s first low-cost oral cholera vaccine, pre-qualified by the World Health Organization (WHO), and developed a new-generation typhoid conjugate vaccine that is currently under assessment for WHO PQ.
IVI is headquartered in Seoul, Republic of Korea with a Europe Regional Office in Sweden, Country Office in Austria, and Collaborating Centers in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Madagascar. 39 countries and the WHO are members of IVI, and the governments of the Republic of Korea, Sweden, India, Finland, and Thailand provide state funding. For more information, please visit https://www.ivi.int.
About Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at LSHTM (MRCG)
MRC Unit The Gambia is a centre of excellence for scientific research and innovation, with a vision to lead health research to save lives in Africa and improve health across the world. With more than 75 years’ experience in sub-Saharan Africa delivering research aimed at reducing the burden of illness and death in low- and middle-income countries, MRCG brings world class research technology to The Gambia, invests in life-changing disease surveillance and preparedness, and is training the next generation of researchers. MRCG currently leads research focussed on 3 broad themes – Vaccines and Immunity, Disease Control and Elimination and Nutrition and Planetary Health. MRCG also support The Gambia Government and surrounding countries with health care knowledge to guide national policies and national development priorities to improve population health and resilience. For more information and latest news, visit our Home page or social media channels X Facebook LinkedIn or email for enquiries.
CONTACT
CEPI
E: press@cepi.net
P: +44 7387 055214
IVI
E: aerie.em@ivi.int
P: +82 2 881 1386
MRCG
E: information@mrc.gm
P: (+220) (0) 4495835 / 4495443-6
Awardees and dignitaries pose for a commemorative photo at the 2024 IVI – SK bioscience Park MahnHoon Award Ceremony at the Plaza Seoul Hotel on April 25, 2024. From left: Mr. Jae-Yong Ahn, President of SK bioscience; Dr. John Clemens, first Director General of IVI; Dr. Lars Hammarström, Head of the Office of Science & Innovation, Embassy of Sweden in Korea; Dr. Youngmee Jee, Commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency; Prof. Jan Holmgren, Prof. Jason McLellan, Prof. Barney Graham, Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI; and Ms. Joy Sakurai, Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy, Seoul. Credit: IVI
Date:Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Objectives:
A total of 39 participants from Bangladesh, Malawi, Nepal, and Uganda participated in the webinar, together with those from IVI-RADAAR and EVIPNet/WHO.
The preparatory work outlined in Webinar 7 was to:
Session 15: Presentation of Formative Evidence Brief for Policy
The final Webinar/Session focused on the Presentation of Formative EBP. Participants from Bangladesh, Malawi, Nepal, and Uganda presented their EBP, with a peer review, and feedback and comments from the EVIPNet/K2P team. The session finished with reflections on the next steps, including the potential for scale-up.
Wrap-up and closing
Date:Thursday, 10 November2022
Objectives:
A total of 39 participants from Bangladesh, Malawi, Nepal, and Uganda participated in the webinar, together with those from IVI-RADAAR and EVIPNet/WHO.
The preparatory work outlined in Webinar 6 was to:
Feedback from country teams on preparatory work/progress to date:
Uganda, Malawi, Nepal briefly shared progress and EVIPNet/K2P team commented on the progress.
Webinar Session 13: Organizing a policy dialogue presented by EVIPNet-K2P Center, focusing on how policy dialogues influence the use of evidence in health policy and decision-making including:
Considerations for conducting policy dialogues, i.e., does the dialogue address a high priority issue? Does it provide opportunities to discuss/address the issue, and considerations for implementation? Is there fair representation among those involved in/affected by future decisions related to the issue? Are follow-up activities undertaken to support action?
Preparation for policy dialogues, i.e., informed by pre-circulated evidence on the policy issue.
Stakeholder selection, i.e., degree of involvement in/knowledge about the issue and relevant solutions; ability to constructively engage in discussions; ability to take forward recommended actions within respective constituencies; and the importance of the dialogue facilitator’s role.
Dialogue summary, i.e., tools to outline the results of the discussions during the policy dialogue; and post-dialogue summaries.
Session 14: Data visualization and role of media in policy-making
Group or individual work with support from EVIPNet/K2P
The webinar ended with Group work based upon Session 14.
Wrap-up and closing
The final Webinar (#8) will be a Simulation Meeting: Presentation of Formative EBP, with the objective:
To present the draft formative EBPs among countries teams (peer review)
To propose outreach strategies for EBPs
To reflect on next steps (including potential for scale up)
Preparatory work (prior to Webinar 8): To complete the formative EBP
Presentation slides are available here
Date:Thursday, 27 October 2022
Objectives:
A total of 42 participants from Bangladesh, Malawi, Nepal, and Uganda participated in the webinar, together with those from IVI-RADAAR and EVIPNet/WHO.
The preparatory work outlined in Webinar 5 was to:
Feedback from country teams on progress to date (10 minutes per team)
Uganda, Malawi, Nepal briefly shared progress and EVIPNet/K2P team commented on the progress.
Webinar 6 provided a ‘Refresher: from problem statement to policy options‘ on the content of Evidence-to-Policy Briefs (EBP) including the problem statement, options and elements, and implementation considerations; framing the problem, clarifying its underlying causes, the appropriate types of evidence to use in framing problems, and framing, developing, and expanding on the options/ elements to address the problem. The refresher session finished with ‘Case examples’.
The webinar then focused on
Session 11: Identifying Key Implementation Considerations Framing presented by EVIPNet-K2P Center. Session 11 included: approaches to policy implementation (i.e. ‘top-down’ and ‘Bottom-up’); identifying and addressing barriers to implementing policies; health system, and social and political constraints; and tips on developing the implementation considerations.
Session 12: Overview of EBP outline (and semi-structured interviews/litmus) including: the policy brief outline, e.g., identification of how the problem related to risk factors/disease, to a program or service, and/or to the current health system; viable policy or programmatic options to address the problem; and potential barriers that could influence implementation policy options. The session also covered: stake- holder selection framework for litmus testing, and semi-structured interviews with stakeholders.
The next steps for countries include:
To agree on preliminary timeline for the updated policy brief outlines
To coordinate with assigned team lead for each country team
Group or individual work with support from EVIPNet/K2P
The webinar ended with Group work – using the EBP template – based upon Sessions 11 and 12.
Presentation slides are available here
Date:Thursday, 15 September 2022
Objectives:
A total of 51 participants from Bangladesh, Nepal, Uganda, and Malawi attended the webinar, together with those from IVI-RADAAR and EVIPNet/WHO.
The preparatory work outlined in Webinar 4 was to:
The introduction to the webinar provided: an Overview of methodologies to measure antibiotic use, and the use of surveillance data; the link between AMR and use of antimicrobials; and the integrated national action needed on optimal use of antimicrobials, including through data, surveillance, and monitoring.
The webinar then focused on Session 10: Framing Viable Policy Options to Address a Problem: A Step-by-Step Guide presented by EVIPNet-K2P Center. Session 10 included: Content of EBPs (i.e. problem statement, options or elements, and implementation considerations); Developing options/elements to address the problem (i.e. policy options, and health system/governance/financial arrangements/delivery arrangements); Steps for developing options/elements to address the issue (literature review, thematic analysis, tailoring to the country issue/context, and selecting 3-4 options); and practical examples of AMR and underlying causes to policy options.
A Q&A session followed, with questions on the behavioural and economic dimensions of policy response and options; the specificity and feasibility of options; and appropriate types of research evidence for developing options.
The webinar ended with Group work – with support from EVIPNet/K2P and using the EBP template to:
Identify 3-4 policy options/elements to address the problem and its underlying causes
Date:Thursday, 8 September 2022
Objectives:
A total of 57 participants from Bangladesh, Nepal, Uganda, and Malawi attended the webinar, together with those from IVI-RADAAR and EVIPNet/WHO.
Webinar 4 began with the ‘Feedback on preparatory work’ outlined in Webinar 3, which was to:
Dr Fadi El-Jardali from the American University of Beirut updated participants on the progress of the four countries including: on the topics selected (Uganda on irrational antibiotic use; Nepal on AMR National Action Plan (NAP) implementation [adjudged to be more about the solution than the problem]; Malawi on the utilization of AMR evidence generated at facility/national level and translation into policy [also more about the solution than the problem]; and Bangladesh, which had not yet been reviewed. The review also included country search strategies. The feedback included questions from participants.
The webinar then focused on the next (of the 15) training sessions:
Session 9. Preparing the EBPs: clarifying and framing the problem including:
Knowledge Translation (KT). Which facilitates the process of translating research into policy and action; and KT products which allow evidence generated from systematic reviews – the basic units of KT – to be packaged in a user-friendly format, written in clear language, and with key messages to increase the likelihood of adoption by policy-makers, and resonance among different target audiences. The use of systematic reviews enable policy-makers to scan large bodies of research evidence to address key features of any policy issue of interest.
– Problem statement: A policy problem that summarizes the best available evidence to clarify the size and nature of the problem and its underlying causes.
– Options or elements: Three or more viable policy and programmatic options described.
– Implementation considerations: Potential barriers to implementing the options/elements and strategies for addressing those.
The EBP does not provide recommendations for action.
The remainder of Webinar 4 featured the Group work exercise facilitated by Racha Fadlallah from K2P Lebanon (and support from EVIPNet). The group work comprised four groups – one for each country (including representatives from WHO country offices, and observers from EVIP/RADAAR) – with the aim:
A template was provided by EVIP facilitators (based on the presentation from Session 9) with sections for completion by country groups.
Presentation slides are available here
Date:Thursday, 25 August 2022
Objectives:
A total of 59 participants from Bangladesh, Nepal, Uganda, and Malawi attended the webinar, together with those from IVI-RADAAR and EVIPNet/WHO.
Webinar 3 began with the ‘Feedback on preparatory work’ outlined in Webinar 2, which was to:
Fadi El-Jardali from the American University in Beirut updated participants on the progress of the four countries and provided further guidance for countries on completing these two crucial stages. Malawi was used as an example applicable to other countries, in terms of structuring thinking in relation to identifying the issue, the political context, what has already been done in terms of AMR, what is missing and why, and stakeholder mapping. Country participants summarised their experiences. The feedback ended with a discussion on the priority areas of focus for the Evidence Brief for Policy (EBP), with updates from countries.
Following feedback reporting, the webinar focused on the next two (of 15) training sessions:
Session 7. Designing search strategies to identify and access research evidence on priority topics including: the importance of effective searches (6,500 medical articles published daily); the use of ‘Boolean Operators (e.g., And, Or, Not); identification of search terms; building a search strategy, including formulating the question/issue, choosing appropriate databases, dividing the question/issue into 2 or 3 concepts, generating search terms for each concept, and combining concepts – and search terms within concepts – using Boolean operators; and validating/documenting the search.
An example of a ‘search’ template was presented, and which participants would complete in the group work at the end of the webinar. The template included: the Problem/Issue being addressed, the Options, the Concepts, the Search terms for each concept, and Combining concepts using Boolean operators
The importance of collecting the best available evidence for EBPs was stressed: local evidence and global research evidence from systematic reviews. Guidance was provided on where to search for such information, including local and national databases, websites of relevant organisations, search engines, ‘grey’ literature, and systematic reviews.
Session 8: Understanding the role of systematic reviews in influencing policy decisions including: the Concept of a systematic review; key databases to search – and how to search – for reviews (e.g., Health Systems Evidence, Cochrane, PubMed); a live demonstration of a search on Health Systems Evidence and PubMed databases; and assessing the quality of reviews (e.g., using AMSTAR).
The remainder of Webinar 3 featured the Group work exercise facilitated by Racha Fadlallah and
Lama Bou Karroum from K2P Lebanon (with support from EVIPNet). The group work was comprised of four groups
– one for each country (including representatives from WHO country offices, with observers from EVIP/RADAAR) – with the aim: To develop a search strategy and search key databases for systematic reviews.
A template was provided by EVIP facilitators (based on the presentation from Session 7) with sections for completion by country groups as follows: the Topic/Issue being addressed, the Concepts, the Search terms for each concept, Combining concepts using Boolean operators, and the Databases searched.
Date:Thursday, 18 August 2022
Objectives:
A total of 65 participants from Bangladesh, Nepal, Uganda, and Malawi attended the webinar, together with those from IVI-RADAAR and WHO.
After a brief introduction, Webinar 2 began with ‘Feedback on preparatory work’ outlined in Webinar 1:
The EBP Team is responsible for developing the EBP and conducting key informant interviews (KIIs), hence an appropriate mixture of expertise is key to a successful team, including members with experience in: methods of writing an EBP; administration; evidence search, appraisal and synthesis; technical expertise on the topic being addressed in the EBP; and communication. Each country must also appoint an EBP steering committee to support the EBP development process, comprising: 4-6 multisectoral, multidisciplinary and high-level stakeholders from government/policy-makers/researchers knowledgeable in the topic and able to contribute to the development of the EBP for AMR.
Each of the four countries reported briefly on the steps taken to form the Core Team, Steering Committee, and in identifying AMR stakeholders (some countries had also informed RADAAR/EVIP prior to the Webinar via email).
Following reporting, the Webinar focused on the next two (of 15) training sessions:
Session 5. Understanding the political and health system and outlining key areas to keep in mind when mapping the policy and political context including: the importance of context-specific and actionable evidence, in particular the political/policy context (e.g., characteristics of government structures, civil service – and interests of – policy-making stakeholders, societal values and external factors, such as social and economic); and health system context (e.g., evidence on health system inputs, processes, and outputs and the analysis of how they combine to produce outcomes, such as – the WHO defined – service delivery, health workforce, information, medical technologies, finance, and leadership/governance).
Session 6:Stakeholder mapping including: on stakeholder interests, i.e., concerns over how a policy may impact them; their positions, i.e., degree of agreement or disagreement with the policy; and their power, i.e., capacity to influence policy. The steps in stakeholder mapping include: defining the goal and implications of the proposed policy change; listing interest groups involved in the issue; categorizing stakeholders according to their influence and power over, and level of interest in the issue; determining a strategy to engage relevant stakeholders; conducting KIIs; and presenting stakeholder analysis.
Stakeholders identified include: decision-/policy-makers (e.g., ministries, government agencies, parliamentarians, municipalities); influencers (e.g., NGOs/CSOs, religious leaders, media, private sector); and the public (e.g., those affected by AMR).
A case example from Ghana was presented to highlight the steps in stakeholder mapping.
Webinar 2 concluded with a Group work exercise (with support from EVIPNet/K2P)
Group work was comprised of four groups – one for each country (including representatives from WHO country offices) – with the aim of:
A template was provided by facilitators with nine questions to capture the above details including: the issue; progress made in addressing the issue; previous related policies/laws/regulations; whether the issue is on the government agenda; windows of opportunity; requirements to reach the policy objective; how laws/regulations are implemented to this purpose; stakeholders involved; and the power interplay among/between stakeholders. The questions provided background information to enable completion of full ‘Stakeholder Mapping’ template (including stakeholder, description, name, power, interest).
Date:Thursday, 11 August 2022
Objectives:
A total of 88 participants from Bangladesh, Nepal, Uganda, and Malawi attended the webinar, together with those from IVI-RADAAR and WHO.
After an introduction to evidence-informed policy-making (EIP) and EVIPNet, Webinar 1 included the first four (of 15) training sessions:
Session 1. Brief overview of the policy-making process including: promoting the use of research evidence in policy-making to improve health systems; increasing country capacity in/institutionalising knowledge translation (KT); approaches to increase research utilization; developing evidence briefs to inform health policy deliberations, and assess the impacts of policy options; and the evidence-action cycle, including priority-setting, evidence, convening deliberative dialogue, and policy implementation.
Presentation slides are available here
Session 2: Understanding role of evidence in policy-making process and efforts to support use of evidence in policy-making including: policy process overview; major public policy theories/frameworks; stages in public policy making, i.e., definition, agenda setting, and policy instruments/implementation/ evaluation; importance of robust research/data/evidence, as well as KT tools/strategies; and enhancing awareness/capacity of, and engaging policy-makers/stakeholders early, and sustaining engagement.
Session 3: Knowledge generation and knowledge translation as a spectrum: evidence on establishing and/or strengthening national health research system using a systems approach and the need of cross evidence ecosystem collaboration including: the National health research system (NHRS); WHO guides/ tools; key workstreams of the evidence ecosystem, i.e., partnering for complementary support in decision-making; HO workstreams, i.e., data analytics, guidelines, health technology assessment (HTA), evidence-informed policy-making supports, modelling, and behavioral research; and the evidence ecosystem framework and policy/action cycle.
Session 4: Learning from success stories of EVIPNet Member Countries: development of evidence briefs for policy on AMR including: Slovenia case study on ‘Translating AMR data and evidence into effective policies (EBP development); driving factors, challenges, and lessons learned; importance of a multi-level/sectoral approach; the need to integrate local evidence; the crucial role of Ministries of Health to put options on the political agenda (and sufficient capacity within the MoH and NIPH).
