IOA Toolkit Pilot in Sudan

In December 2024, the third pilot orientation on the Integrated Outbreak Analytics (IOA) toolkit was held in Port-Sudan, Sudan. Over a period of 4 days, two facilitators from the IOA toolkit task team introduced the toolkit to participants through a range of presentations and numerous small-group exercises using the tools and procedures presented in the toolkit. To facilitate understanding and ownership, participants worked with real data from their daily work. In a country heavily affected by multiple epidemics in a conflict context, participants chose to work on current or recent measles and cholera epidemics. 

Participants came from the Sudanese Ministry of Health, UN agencies, the Sudanese Red Crescent, as well as numerous NGOs, with a predominance of participants with a background in epidemiology and public health. The participation of several directors and heads of departments from the Ministry of Health throughout the orientation was a clear signal of the interest and commitment of health authorities to the potential benefits of IOA for Sudan. 

At the end of the orientation, an early discussion took place about the roadmap for the implementation of a national IOA cell. With the support of UNICEF and WHO, and previous work done in other countries, the authorities quickly began establishing a working group to define the Terms of Reference of a future IOA cell, with guidance and follow-up from the IOA toolkit task team. 

In addition, evaluations from participants and facilitators will be used to improve the material: the toolkit itself and all the accompanying orientation content and activities. 

Thanks to all the participants for their involvement and amazing energy, and thanks to the UNICEF country office for their hard work in organizing this orientation. 

The IOA Toolkit pilot has now ended in all three pilot sites, DRC, Somalia and Sudan. The IOA Toolkit Task Team is incorporating all evaluations and feedback into the IOA Toolkit and moving to the next phase, graphic design.