IVI and Sri Lanka

 

IVI Member State

On April 30, 1997, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, H.E. Herman Leonard de Silva, signed the IVI Establishment Agreement

 

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Surveillance

In 2019, IVI initiated a program to study the prevalence of AMR in Sri Lanka. The program, part of an IVI-led consortium known as CAPTURA, or Capturing Data on Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns and Trends in Use in Regions in Asia, works closely with Director General of Health Services (DGHS), Deputy Director General of Laboratory Services (DDGLS) of the National Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance (NAC-AMR), the Sri Lanka College of Microbiologists, and the Sri Lanka Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry.

CAPTURA aims to increase the volume of data available to improve spatiotemporal mapping of AMR and antimicrobial use (AMU); assess the quality of data and provide meta-data to give regional and inter-regional context; undertake analysis of the data; and ensure findings are disseminated locally, regionally, and globally. The project will identify gaps in data and areas for quality improvement that can be addressed in future initiatives to strengthen surveillance capacity. Finally, the information resource generated by the project will improve awareness, advocacy, policy, and interventions needed to combat AMR and antimicrobial misuse.

 

VAIEMS and the WHO Global Vaccine Safety Initiative (GVSI)

IVI, in collaboration with WHO’s Global Vaccine Safety Initiative (GVSI), developed a new software tool for collecting and processing information on adverse events following immunization (AEFI) to promote internationally harmonized tools and methods to support
vaccine safety. Known as the Vaccine Adverse Events Information Management System (VAEIMS), this tool was pilot tested in Sri Lanka and evaluated for its ability to transfer AEFI data from health outposts into a central database for processing and conversion of raw data to information for action. Based on its success, Sri Lanka decided to use it at the national level beginning in 2015.

 

Rotavirus Diarrhea Vaccine Program

From 2003 to 2009, In collaboration with national leaders, pediatricians, and national public health leaders, and funding from PATH’s Rotavirus Vaccine program (RVP), IVI conducted hospital-based rotavirus surveillance studies to estimate rotavirus disease burden in hospitalized children under 5 years.

IVI scientists developed a protocol to conduct standardized hospital-based studies in Phnom Penh Cambodia, Vientiane Laos, Ulaanbaatar Mongolia, and Colombo Sri Lanka.

In 2004, The molecular analysis of rotavirus strains was conducted in collaboration with the University of Melbourne in Australia. Local scientists, one each from Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka visited the Melbourne reference laboratory for short-term training to learn molecular virologic typing methods using reverse-transcription PCR. Strain typing for rotavirus is critical to understanding changes in the types that may cause epidemics in the future.

Surveillance for hospital-based rotavirus studies in sentinel hospitals in Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka were completed in 2007. The average rotavirus incidence rate across the 4 sites averaged 43%. These data were to provide the foundation for estimating the national incidence or rotavirus diarrhea in these countries.

 

Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative (PDVI)

In 2008, PDVI conducted face-to-face surveys of policymakers and other stakeholders regarding their views about dengue and the future introduction of dengue vaccines in India and Sri Lanka. In all, 54 officials from health ministries, major hospitals, research institutes, professional associations, municipal governments, and Indian vaccine producers were interviewed. The study found that dengue is a major concern and a top infectious disease priority among both local and national governments, and there is generally a high interest among policymakers in introducing dengue vaccines once they become available.

In 2009, the Field Site Consortium supported by IVI introduced a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) developed by the Managua Nicaragua field site, into the PDVI field site in Kolkata India. In 2010, PDVI began updating and introducing LIMS into field sites in Colombia, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka.