EIDM Training Series - 2022

In 2022, the LIGHT team conducted three EIDM workshops, led by AFIDEP, engaging 80 stakeholders including National TB managers in Nigeria, Uganda and Malawi.

• NIGERIA (4-8 Jul 2022): AFIDEP delivered, in partnership with the ZRC, a five-day EIDM training in Abuja for 38 stakeholders. Participants included mid- and senior-level TB programme personnel with the capacity to influence TB policies from Nigeria’s National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP), State TB Programme, WHO, Centre for Gender and Social Policy Studies at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), and ZRC. Participants were encouraged to share the skills they learned with their peers and colleagues.

• UGANDA (29 Aug– 2 Sep 2022): AFIDEP hosted, in partnership with MLI, a five-day EIDM training in Entebbe, Uganda, reaching out to 17 stakeholders. Participants included mid- and senior-level TB programme personnel with the capacity to influence TB policies from Uganda’s National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Programme (NTLP), the non-communicable disease programme at the Ministry of Health (MoH), and the MLI. The institutions selected participants to build their capacity in evidence use and policy formulation as they champion more holistic, inclusive, and person-centred approaches to accelerate efforts in ending the TB epidemic and NCDs.

• MALAWI (14 – 17 Nov 2022): AFIDEP delivered an EIDM training to 25 Malawian stakeholders from NTLEP, the Ministry of Gender, and the civil society who are working to prevent and end tuberculosis (TB). The training was well received and led to the team’s involvement in policy reviews and other engagement activities. Bruce Matewere, Executive Director of Paradiso TB Patients Trust, and Rebecca Karimu Mtambo, Senior Tuberculosis Quality Management Officer at Malawi’s Ministry of Health, National TB and Leprosy Elimination Programme, were interviewed after the training to discuss its value and potential impact on their work.

EIDM Training of Trainers (ToT)- 2023

In October 2023, LIGHT Consortium partner, AFIDEP, conducted a Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop on Evidence-Informed Decision-Making (EIDM). The workshop brought together mid-level technical officers, including representatives from the National Tuberculosis Programmes (NTPs) in Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and Uganda. Combined with online EIDM ToT sessions, the ToT programme equipped participants with essential knowledge and skills to transfer to their colleagues within their institutions, and to integrate research evidence into public health decision-making.

The EIDM ToT served as a cross-cutting capacity-strengthening initiative, enhancing both individual and institutional capacities within and beyond LIGHT. The EIDM ToT not only strengthened participants' knowledge and skills among NTP technical officers but also fostered valuable cross-country learning and experience sharing and learning. The ToT was followed by nine-month mentorship to reinforce and support the practical application of EIDM skills learned.

This initiave led to impactful outcomes, including the development of country-specific policy briefs, disseminated at national and international platforms; and promoting an evidence-use culture within institutions  through startegies like EIDM sensitisation meetings.

The video below highlights some of the participants' insights relating to suggested solutions, from across the African continent, towards ending TB in their respective countries.