© Blantyre Institute for Community Outreach | Annual Report | 2016 2016 Annual Report …excellence in community eye health © Blantyre Institute for Community Outreach | Annual Report | 2016 Table of Contents Foreword……………………………………………………………………………………………..…3 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 5 Acronyms ................................................................................................................................................ 6 About BICO ............................................................................................................................................ 7 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 8 2. KEY ACHIEVEMENTS ............................................................................................................ 8 A. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION ............................................................................................... 8 2.1 TRACHOMA ELIMINATION PROJECT ................................................................ 8 2.2 MORDOR PROJECT ........................................................................................... 11 2.3 LOW VISION ..................................................................................................... 15 B. RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY ............................................................................................ 19 i. Operational Research ............................................................................................... 19 ii. Trachoma Mapping ................................................................................................. 20 iii. Trachoma Impact and Surveillance Survey ................................................................. 21 iv. Trachoma Impact Survey Results Dessemination ......................................................... 23 v. Drug Coverage Survey ............................................................................................. 24 C. SUPPORT TO PARTNERS ..................................................................................................... 24 i. SUPPORT TO MOH & OTHER PARTNERS ............................................................ 24 D. CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT & DEVELOPMENT ..................................................... 28 i. Local & International Training .................................................................................. 28 E. BICO RELIEF & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME .............................................. 29 i. Youth Development Programme ............................................................................... 29 F. INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT, STAFFING & STAFF WELFARE ............................ 29 i. New offices ............................................................................................................ 29 ii. ICT Development .................................................................................................... 30 iii. Project Proposal development ................................................................................... 33 iv. Human Resource Policy Hand Book & Financial Guidelines......................................... 34 v. Staff Recruitment, Development & Deployment ......................................................... 34 1 | P a g e © Blantyre Institute for Community Outreach | Annual Report | 2016 vi. Staff Team Building ............................................................................................. 35 vii. Staff News .......................................................................................................... 35 G. 2016: BICO VISITORS (selected) ................................................................................ 37 H. APPENDIX 1: FINANCIAL PROGRESS REPORT ............................................................... 42 I. APPENDIX 2: 2016 BICO STAFF .......................................................................................... 45 2 | P a g e © Blantyre Institute for Community Outreach | Annual Report | 2016 Foreword 2016 was an extraordinary and one of the most successful years in the history of BICO. We continued our innovations, using local solutions to solve global problems. Our target remains the local communities that we work with, though in our 2016- 2020 strategic plan, we have changed from focussing only on community eye care to focusing on general health care. Our branding changed from “Blantyre Institute for Community Ophthalmology” to “Blantyre Institute Community Outreach” - BICO. Our successes are many to mention, but some highlighted ones include the Trachoma operational research that we conducted on behalf of the global trachoma community, and successfully demonstrated that one round of Mass Drug Administration (MDA) with Zithromax is adequate for districts with Trachoma Follicular Prevalence of between 5 and 9.9%. The findings were presented in London at the Trachoma Expert Committee (TEC) in December 2016, and these have contributed to formulation of a global policy, where all districts that fall in this category will now be eligible to access Zithromax donation for mass treatment from Pfizer through International Trachoma Initiative (ITI). We were also the first partner to pilot test the global Mhealth tools for tracking Trachoma Trichiasis patients, using data captured and uploaded on Tropical data. The MORDOR study is 80% completed and expected to wind up in June 2017. In the Malawi Trachoma Elimination program, through operational research (impact surveys), we demonstrated that more than two thirds of formerly endemic Malawian trachoma districts are now free from trachoma. We recruited more staff, and had two senior staff being certified as master grader and master recorders trainers for the trachoma program using Tropical data. For infrastructure, we moved into new larger offices in Blantyre, and also expanded our low vision work to Ntcheu district, central region of Malawi. The visits of high profile teams to BICO throughout the year gives a testimony of our success. We had consultants for the Low Vision Program, Deworm3 team, and the Mhealth Team. The climax of the visit was in October 2016 when the Chief executive and President of the Task Force for Global Health-TFGH (our collaborator), Board Member of TFGH, the Director of 3 | P a g e © Blantyre Institute for Community Outreach | Annual Report | 2016 Communications for TFGH, the director of International Trachoma Initiative (ITI), the finance director of the Sightsavers UK, film crews, saw the impact of our community work on the ground, and were impressed with the findings. Our success has yielded more projects. We will be undertaking work to address the feasibility of interrupting soil transmitted helminths (hookworm and other worms) from 2017 -2022, through our collaborations with London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), and Natural History Museum (NHM) for the DeWorm3 project. This is no ordinary achievement, and I would like to thank all BICO staff for their dedication. It gives me great pleasure to present to you our annual report for 2016. It is my hope that this report will stimulate your interest to engage with BICO now or in the future. Dr Khumbo Kalua PhD (London), Msc, MMED, MBBS, DLSHTM Director Blantyre Institute for Community Outreach – BICO, Lions Sight First Eye Hospital, P. O. Box E180, Post Dot Net. Blantyre, Malawi. Tel: +265 1 875 377/ +265 999 958 176 Email: [email protected] / [email protected] Website: www.bicomalawi.org Registered charity (CONGOMA) No: C627/2013 4 | P a g e © Blantyre Institute for Community Outreach | Annual Report | 2016 Acknowledgements The BICO End of Year Report has been made possible through the efforts of the following members of staff: David Chinyanya (who compiled the report), George Moyo, Ignasio Wachepa, Limbani Mitengo, Zachariah Kamwendo, Alvin Chisambi, Florence Kalua, Lesley Mulaga, Tisungane Chitimbe, Christopher Phiri and Mumderanji Salomie Balakasi who provided write ups and proof reading and Dr Khumbo Kalua for providing the guidance and direction of the report. BICO would like to thank all members of staff because without their dedication and commitment to duty these activities could not have been fully implemented. It is through them that BICO’s contribution towards the prevention of avoidable blindness in Malawi in 2016 has been outstandingly visible and significant. We also thank BICO’s Board of Directors for their oversight and policy guidance, Assistant Director of Clinical Services (Ophthalmology) - Ministry of Health and DHOs and staff from Nsanje, Chikwawa, Zomba, Machinga, Ntcheu, Mangochi, Dedza, Mchinji, Mangochi and Dowa DHOs and Zomba Central Hospital for supporting and directly involved in the implementation of various BICO supported projects and activities in their respective districts during the year under review. BICO is also indebted to Sightsavers Country Office support. In addition, BICO would like to acknowledge the financial and technical support from the following development partners: 1. Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust Fund: Trachoma Elimination Programme 2. Lions of Netherlands and Wilde Ganzen: Low Vision Project 3. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine - Mordor Study. 4. Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) Centre, USA -Trachoma Coverage surveys and Impact surveys. 5. USAID –