Global Health Projects

KIT Institute designs and implements a technical assistance approach to strengthen health workforce planning and ensure the right health workers are in the right place. Evidence-informed decision-making There is a shortage of health workers in many low-and middle-income countries (LMIC). The workers that are available are often not well distributed – with a concentration of […]

KIT Institute and Universitas Padjadjaran (UNPAD) conducted a formative evaluation, to learn from the achievements of the last ten years, and identify remaining issues for health workforce strengthening in the region.

KIT is conducting a study, commissioned by UNESCO, on young people’s perspectives on school-based education for health and well-being, including sexuality education. Sexuality education has major positive health and social outcomes for adolescents and young people. Yet, research that focuses on their experiences with such education remains limited. KIT is partnering with young researchers and […]

Between December 2022 and May 2023 Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) conducted a qualitative meta-analysis for Theatre for a Change (TfaC) . The overall objective was to explore what effects TfaC programmes have on individuals, groups, and communities when used as a behaviour change and advocacy tool for SRHR, and which elements of the TfaC methodology contribute to these changes. Theatre for a Change (TfaC) […]

KIT and in country partners are designing a real time monitoring and evaluation platform to facilitate decision making for the control and management of schistosomiasis. This tool will build upon the MATCH methodology that seeks to inform decision making through better use of data.   In the 2021-2030 roadmap, the WHO calls for: With the limited resources available for reducing transmission and […]

KIT worked with the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology (ISUOG), to assess their outreach programme and provide strategic directions to improve global access to obstetric and gynaecology ultrasound. As of 2020, ISUOG aims to move to more comprehensive programming for its areas of impact: training & education and beyond, including global access […]

Abortion laws and regulations are key in creating an enabling environment that facilitates the advancement of people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights and well-being. Notwithstanding the recent retrogressions on abortion laws in various parts of the world, legal frameworks regulating access to safe abortion have been progressively liberalised around the world over the last […]

La santé et les droits sexuels et reproductifs (SDSR) sont essentiels au développement sain des jeunes, mais beaucoup d’entre eux doivent trouver leur chemin avec des informations inexactes, un accès limité aux services de santé et des normes sexospécifiques néfastes qui empêchent les filles d’avoir leur mot à dire dans les décisions qui les concernent. […]

Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are critical to the healthy development of young people, but many young people must find their way with inaccurate information, poor access to health services, and harmful gender norms that prevent girls from having a say in decisions that affect them. In many African countries, young girls face […]

The Power to You(th) programme focuses on harmful practices, such as female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and child marriage, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and unintended pregnancies. All of these are persistent ‘key issues’ where insufficient progress has been made in recent years. Funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the programme is led by […]

L’AMABIOT est une association professionnelle du personnel technique des laboratoires de biologie au Mali, une organisation de la société civile, avec un but non lucratif. L’AMABIOT a présentement plus de 800 membres, et elle est établie dans 8 régions sur les 10 et district de Bamako au Mali. L’accompagnement dans l’élaboration d’un plan stratégique permettra à l’association de mieux […]

Il y a une multiplicité d’organisations et d’interventions qui visent à améliorer la SDSR dans la région du Sahel et renforcer le système éducatif pour un Sahel plus résilient. Cependant, il y a un manque de cohésion et d’harmonisation entre elles. Le projet ENSEMBLE contribuera au renforcement des leçons apprises et de l’échange de connaissances entre les organisations et programmes poursuivant les mêmes […]

Renforcement des capacités de l’IFSIO et de l’EFMS pour formuler l’offre de formation de mise à niveau des Infirmiers Brevetés afin de leur permettre d’accéder au Corps des Contrôleurs d’Action Sanitaire. Pour améliorer les compétences des infirmiers breveté pour mieux servir la santé du population au Benin, les institutes de l’IFSIO et de l’EFMS renforcent […]

The RISE programme aimed to strengthen the capacity of NGO (health) professionals and academic institutions to meet the sexual and reproductive health and rights needs of groups displaced by conflict and the climate crisis in southern Bangladesh. Tailor-made Training Together with our partners, KIT delivered a two-module tailor-made training programme to 30 health professionals from Family Planning Association Bangladesh […]

Cash and voucher assistance (CVA) refers to programs where cash or vouchers, exchangeable for goods or services, are directly provided to community members. CVA can help improve access to and the utilisation of health services, by reducing direct and indirect financial barriers and incentivising the use of free preventive services. There is also a growing […]

Pakistan has one of the highest burdens of tuberculosis (TB) in the world, a disease that infected as many as 10 million people and caused 1.4 million deaths globally in 2019. Around a quarter of the world’s population are thought to be infected with latent TB. The disease can remain dormant for years, until, for example, the immune system is […]

Between 2019 and 2020, KIT evaluated a multi-sector programme led by UNICEF to improve early childhood development services for children living with disabilities in vulnerable districts of the West Bank and Gaza. Early Child Development is a Priority for Palestine The State of Palestine has suffered from violence and protracted displacement for more than 50 […]

The BRIDGE guidelines are good epidemiological practice (GEP) guidelines specifically for global health epidemiology. Why are specific GEP guidelines needed for global health? Research integrity and research fairness have gained considerable momentum in the past decade and have direct implications for global health epidemiology. Existing good epidemiological practice guidelines developed by national epidemiological associations lack […]

Malnutrition and undernutrition remains a serious health problem for many mothers, infants and children in Sierra Leone. In 2019, KIT conducted a national study to better understand men’s and women’s knowledge, attitudes and practices towards children’s development and wellbeing, with an emphasis on nutrition.  Behavioural Change Communication  This study was designed to help the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation develop a Behavioural Change Communication strategy […]

Government policies in Bangladesh recognise that sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services and information are crucial. However, the technical capacity of health workers to provide them needs to be strengthened, especially to ensure the inclusion of vulnerable women and men, young people, people with disabilities and people from minority groups. “We Care” aims […]

Since April 2019, the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) has worked with ten of its member associations – that is, national societies of obstetrics and gynaecology – to become key actors in safe abortion advocacy and national leaders in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for women. The project envisioned reaching its […]

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of infectious diseases that thrive in poor and rural settings, affecting 1.6 billion of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people, including 850 million children. Accelerating the Sustainable Control and Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ASCEND) is a new programme funded by the UK Department for International Development […]

Vaccines have substantially reduced or eliminated many infectious diseases which once killed millions of people. Vaccination programmes not only provide vaccines, but strategic leadership and coordination, cold-chain systems necessary for transport, and programme monitoring and evaluation. Behind every vaccination programme, strong health systems are needed to deliver and scale-up new vaccines and to improve immunisation […]

South Sudan has experienced significant levels of fragility, conflict and violence for nearly half a century. It is estimated that over 400,000 lives have been lost since 2013 due to conflict and millions more have been displaced. With limited access to basic health services, it has some of the worst health indicators in the world, […]

This project aims to increase the ability of humanitarian actors to identify and respond to the needs and rights of victims of sexual violence. It also aims to improve the availability of services for sexual violence survivors. The study will generate evidence, identify good practices and disseminate lessons learnt about sexual violence in six different […]

The Netherlands Red Cross, Light for the World, the IFRC Psychosocial Centre, and KIT Institute are piloting a new crash course to encourage others to use psychological first aid (PFA) in crisis settings. Through scenario-based role play, the course teaches mental health professionals and trained lay people to put PFA into practice and gain valuable […]

Formation Santé et Droits Sexuels et Reproductifs : une collaboration de l’Enseignement Public et Privé pour l’intégration de Ia santé reproductive des adolescents et jeunes dans le curriculum de base des techniciens de santé et techniciens supérieurs de santé. Au Mali, spécifiquement à Mopti et Sikasso, les jeunes et les adolescents éprouvent des difficultés à […]

Education on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights: A collaboration of public and private education for the integration of adolescent and youth reproductive health into the basic curriculum of health technicians and senior health technicians. In Mali, specifically in Mopti and Sikasso, young people and adolescents have difficulty exercising their sexual and reproductive health rights […]

Le Mali, le Niger et le Burkina Faso sont confrontés à des défis complexes, sociétal, sécuritaire, et de santé. Les conséquences sont surtout visibles chez les femmes et les filles avec un risque plus élevé de violence et de plus grandes difficultés d’accès aux soins de santé, à l’éducation et à l’emploi. Compte tenu des […]

Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso face complex societal, security, and health challenges. The consequences of which are most visible among women and girls, who have a higher risk of violence and greater difficulties in accessing health care, education and employment. Given the difficulties in accessing quality sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information and […]

In 2018, KIT Royal Tropical Institute conducted two assignments to improve health services for refugees and host communities in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Supporting an over-stretched health system in Cox’s Bazar Since violence erupted in Rakhine State, Myanmar, in August 2017, over 900,000 Rohingya have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh. These refugees live in makeshift settlements […]

Millions of Syrian refugees have been affected psychologically by the Syrian conflict. The STRENGTHS project is training Syrian refugees to provide a mental-health intervention called Problem Management+ (PM+) to fellow refugees. Its aim is to help alleviate some of the psychological trauma suffered by those who have escaped the conflict, but paid a high psychological […]

KIT trained 39 staff members from Sudan’s Federal and State Health Ministries and the World Health Organization (WHO) Country Office. The goal is preparing them for training 184 Locality Health Management Teams. In turn, the Locality Health Management Teams each provide health care for between 70,000 to 500,000 people. The Locality teams carry out the […]

Perform2Scale was a five year research project designed to develop and evaluate a sustainable approach to scaling up a district-level Management Strengthening Intervention (MSI) in Malawi, Uganda, and Ghana. Through context analysis and process evaluation, KIT Royal Tropical Institute helped the scale-up of the MSI to respond to different and changing decentralised contexts across these […]

The Tuberculosis Hackathon begins with a question: can we make useful predictive models for sub-national tuberculosis (TB) burden in Pakistan? In partnership with Pakistan’s National Tuberculosis Control Program, KIT’s Centre for Spatial Epidemiology (CASE) is hosting a virtual hackathon to develop novel approaches to predict TB burden. The challenge TB prevalence surveys are usually powered […]

Sida and KIT Royal Tropical Institute have entered into a framework agreement to provide Sida and Swedish embassy staff with various advisory services on Health and SRHR (see examples of assignments below). With its team of over 40 health experts, KIT Royal Tropical Institute can assist on various themes related to health systems and services, SRHR, […]

In August 2017, a data analysis workshop was organised in Dhaka, Bangladesh, during which stakeholders from various Bangladeshi institutions – including BRAC, MSH and ICDDR Bangladesh – worked together to generate new hypotheses about where missing cases of TB are found, whom they may be, why they may be missed, and which solutions are needed […]

KIT’s Centre for Applied Spatial Epidemiology (CASE) supported Pakistan’s National TB Programme in the collection of data on TB diagnostic and treatment centers in Khairpur and Islamabad Capital Territory. Summary A number of countries that attended the Bangkok workshop on the KIT’s MATCH Approach to tuberculosis (TB) care subsequently requested continued support to either a) […]

Kazakhstan is one of thirty countries prioritised by the WHO because of its high-burden of multi drug-resistant (MDR)-Tuberculosis (TB). Summary The Centre for Applied Spatial Epidemiology (CASE) of KIT Royal Tropical Institute was requested by The Global Fund to apply the MATCH Approach to tuberculosis care to support National Toxicology Programs in the Central Asian […]

The Centre for Applied Spatial Epidemiology (CASE) of KIT Royal Tropical Institute provided training in the MATCH Approach to tuberculosis (TB) programme staff who use data to improve programme effectiveness. Funded by the Global Fund, The Stop TB Partnership and the WHO Global TB Program, the CASE team traveled to Bangkok to facilitate the “Regional […]

This project developed models for cost effective and sustainable projects that address the supply and demand of nutritious food in poor urban areas in Kenya. A KIT Collaboration This was a collaborative project that brought together experts from KIT’s global health and sustainable economic development. It produced a model which can help policy makers, development […]

KIT Institute proudly presents: the MATCH approach (Mapping and Analysis for Tailored disease Control and Health system strengthening) for National Tuberculosis Programmes. MATCH supports National Tuberculosis Programmes to more effectively use resources to treat populations with ongoing tuberculosis transmission. The MATCH approach begins by gathering many – often underused – sources of data, for example: geographic, temporal, and demographic data. The first step […]

The School of Public Health Chisinau was assisted to review their Master of Public Health curriculum together with the Ministry of Health, laboratory managers and students and make adjustments in the MPH in order to develop a training for laboratory managers. Specific modules for laboratory managers for laboratory managers were developed. After that teaching and […]

KIT has been supporting the Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) to make better use of their database and develop relevant research to improve their course offering. This will position IHI as a powerful leader in public health in Tanzania. Improving Ifakara Health Institute’s data analysis The crucial challenge for Tanzania’s healthcare system is to improve the […]

KIT assisted the implementation of the three-year South Sudan Health Action and Research Project (SHARP). Working closely with South Sudan’s Ministry of Health, the project aimed to improve the accessibility of reproductive health (RH) care in post-conflict South Sudan. Rebuilding and Envisioning  South Sudan had the highest maternal mortality rate in the world at 2,054 women […]

By using participatory research, this project investigates if and how social accountability mechanisms improve responsiveness and performance of maternal health services in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It further assesses in which contexts these mechanisms are successful and why, leading to policy recommendations for maternal health in both countries. Intervention planning and […]

KIT is supporting universal health coverage (UHC) in Zimbabwe by defining and costing the essential health benefit package and providing appropriate health financing options. This work supports local decision- and policy-makers to strengthen a healthcare system that serves millions of Zimbabweans. Together with UNICEF Zimbabwe, KIT has worked closely with the Ministry of Health and […]

This two-week tailor-made training  course was designed to provide staff at the Aga Khan University, Karachi (AKU) with both theory and practical tools for governance and gender mainstreaming within health systems, particularly with respect emergency response. Redressing the balance in an ill-prepared health system Pakistan is regularly confronted with natural disasters as well as conflict. As gender inequality […]

The National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory (NTRL) of Benin is seeking accreditation from the World Health Organization to become a Supranational Reference Laboratory (ISO 15189) . Since 2011 KIT – itself already ISO 15189 accredited – has assisted the NTRL with the implementation of the quality management systems needed to achieve this goal. Onsite and remote […]

KIT is working in Togo, Guinea, Benin, and Burkina Faso to improve their quality of maternal and child health services through workforce planning and forecasting. Feasible interventions have been implemented through collaboration and information sharing between stakeholders. This is part of a move towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Projections and analysis With more countries adhering […]

Moldova faces an enormous emigration of health professionals especially to the EU and US. The Moldovan Ministry of Health and the Observatory for Human Resources for Health (HRH) therefore approached KIT to help them improve human resource management skills in order to motivate health workers to remain in Moldova. Training to Remain KIT examined the […]

In 2011, dance4life (d4l) commissioned KIT to study and make recommendations to improve the efficiency and impact of its programme. As a result of the findings, d4l to launched a new campaign targeting the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of young people and their communities in Russia and Uganda. Meaningful involvement and strategic planning Many […]

KIT has teamed up with national researchers and partners to investigate the effectiveness of a new Motivational Intervention (MI+) approach. Our aim is to discover ways of motivating young men, specifically in Bangladesh and Kenya, to make safer choices about their sexual health and to equip service providers to better meet the needs of these […]

In collaboration with health consultants, KIT Royal Tropical Institute developed an analysis method and monitoring and evaluation tools for measuring the effectiveness of tuberculosis detection innovations. Improving case detection in poor and vulnerable populations Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Globally more than three million people with TB remain undiagnosed each […]

In a long-term collaboration, KIT Royal Tropical Institute and the Netherlands Leprosy Relief (NLR) have been working to reduce leprosy, whilst improving methods for its evaluation and study. This has resulted in significant research contribution and global policy setting, as well as country-level improvements in leprosy detection and control. Furthering the agenda in global leprosy […]

REACHOUT generates knowledge to develop the role of close-to-community providers of healthcare in preventing, diagnosing, and treating major illnesses and health conditions in rural and urban areas in Africa and Asia. An ambitious international research project Close-to-community providers are health workers who carry out promotional, preventive or curative health services. They are often the first […]

At the request of the Malian Ministry of Health (MoH), KIT undertook action-research in order to develop a model for results-based financing (RBF) in the Koulikoro Region of Mali. Better financing to reduce maternal mortality Across Africa all avenues are being explored in order to achieve the most problematic of the ten Millennium Development Goals (MDG): […]

KIT Royal Tropical Institute Health is strengthening the capacity of action research within different AMREF Health Africa programmes. Taking action on action research In 2009 and 2010 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands implemented a capacity development process within the nomadic youth reproductive health programme for MSF1. This was followed by a project from 2011-2014 […]

KIT Royal Tropical Institute led the impact evaluation of the cervical cancer screening and treatment programme of the Nicaraguan Ixchen Centre for Women. Results indicate that the aid was effective: over 40,000 women, who otherwise would not have accessed services, now were screened for cervical cancer and more than 1,200 of these received necessary treatment, […]

KIT Royal Tropical Institute is supporting the National Institute of Training in Health Sciences (INFSS) in Mali to strengthen its educational capacity in Sexual and Reproductive Health. INFSS is Mali’s reference institute for Bachelor- and Master-level training of paramedics. After their graduation these paramedics provide Sexual and Reproductive Health services throughout Mali. Altogether, INFSS trains […]

KIT Royal Tropical Institute carried out a benefit incidence analysis (BIA) of the ground-breaking Obio Community Health Insurance Scheme in Nigeria, one of Shell’s community health initiatives.  The results of the BIA informed the strategy and scale up of the Obio CHIS programme. Reducing out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures The Obio Community Health Insurance Scheme (CHIS) – […]

KIT Royal Tropical Institutes Health Department leads the consortium that realizes a two-year programme aiming to increase the resilience and preparedness of Ebola Virus and other emerging infectious diseases in Sierra Leone and Guinea through three integrated work packages. Video’s Work package one: communities The first work package is coordinated by Wageningen University. The work […]

GLEAN is a multisector, multidisciplinary consortium devoted to the fight against leptospirosis. KIT Royal Tropical Institute is involved as a major contributor, supporting the detection and control of this infectious disease that affects over 1 million people a year globally. A global burden Leptospirosis is an endemic and epidemic zoonotic disease with global distribution, which is particularly […]

This project aims to increase our understanding of the epidemiology, risks and impact of Lyme borreliosis in Europe. Identifying spatial and temporal patterns in the incidence of infections will allow us to make recommendations of improved (risk-based) surveillance, and will increase of public and institutional awareness of Lyme risks in those area where Borrelia is most […]

The Earth Observation and ENVironmental modelling for the mitigation of HEAlth risks (EO2HEAVEN) project monitored environmental changes induced by human activities and enhanced integration of remotely sensed and in-situ environmental measurements with public health data. New insights were used to develop models relating environmental data to public health threats and to predict health risks. Healthy […]

This projects promotes the application of the Geographic Information System (GIS) tools by applying geo-visualisation techniques and spatial analysis to routinely collected TB data. Tools and techniques providing information essential for a better understanding and effective targeting of supervision and remedial actions to improve TB program and its supporting TB laboratory services were developed as […]

The Afghan Ministry of Public Health requested a third party monitoring & evaluation of its national health services. It was assigned to KIT Royal Tropical Institute by means of a health facility functionality assessment, drug quality assessment, health management information system verification, household surveys and results-based financing assessment. As of 2003, Afghanistan established a novel […]

This project aims to reduce child marriage, teenage pregnancies and female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) related practices. Its work covers seven countries: Pakistan, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi. The Yes I Do project is a joint collaboration with Plan Netherlands in the lead, along with CHOICE, Rutgers and Amref. It is funded by the […]

The aim of the ‘Get Up Speak Out!’ (GUSO) project is to improve access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights information (SRHR), education and services for young people and empower them to claim their rights, make decisions and participate meaningfully in society. The project is implemented in 7 countries – Pakistan, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Kenya, […]

Royal Tropical Institute(KIT) developed at the request of the World Health Organisation a 2,5 day module on monitoring and evaluation for the International Health Regulations (IHR) for IHR National Focal Points. The training was piloted in Bratislava, December 2016 and will be rolled out over all WHO regions in 2017. Detecting, assessing, reporting and responding The […]

In collaboration with The WHO Global TB Program, the Stop TB Partnership, and World Health Organization SEARO KIT has developed an analytical approach that makes the most of available subnational tuberculosis program data to find the missing cases of TB. A joint initiative In the summer of 2016, the Stop TB Partnership and The Global […]

The Platform’s focus is on strengthening the role knowledge can play in developing evidence-based policies and practices for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). It also ensures that resources are used strategically, including in relation to the four core areas of Dutch policy on SRHR: Achievements Since its inception, Share-Net International has been implementing […]

Problems and challenges At the moment of the Ebola outbreak in 2014, Liberia’s health system was weakened and vulnerable from the civil war, which decimated the nation’s health system. This has led to great brain drain of (potential) health professionals migrating overseas or not returning after completing their health profession degree overseas. Consequently Liberia is […]

Review of curricula of laboratory workers to update curricula to current needs and demands from respective countries. Competencies of different levels of laboratory workers formulated and plans of action to improve curricula developed. Better labs for better health Well-functioning, sustainable laboratory services, operating according to international principles of quality and safety, are an essential part […]

Developing and delivering a joint Masters of Public Health with emphasis on HIV/AIDS together with the Hanoi School of Public Health (HSPH), to improve capacity for HIV prevention in Vietnam. Strengthening Vietnam’s capacity to prevent HIV/AIDS KIT Royal Tropical Institute and the Hanoi School of Public Health developed a Master’s programme to strengthen Vietnam’s capacity […]

We are assessing the completeness of tuberculosis notification data by retrospective analysis of multiple national tuberculosis databases in six selected EU/EEA Member States. This project will provide information on surveillance completeness and quality, an estimate of the incidence of tuberculosis and information on strengths and gaps in the national surveillance system in  six European countries. […]

KIT conducted a ‘needs assessment’ for the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO). It covered a multi-country project designed to increase the capacity of national obstetrics and gynaecology societies to lead their nations in safe abortion advocacy work. The formative research focused on the views about abortion advocacy in ten nations, taking into account both […]

Between 2013 and 2016 UNICEF worked to strengthen investment in Child Health Days (CHD) in 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa by enhancing national ownership, scaling-up, and coverage through the “Scaling up Nutrition and Immunization” project – funded by Global Affairs Canada. KIT Royal Tropical Institute was contracted by UNICEF headquarters in New York to conduct an external […]

HESVIC was a 3½ year research project investigating how regulation affects equitable access to quality maternal health care through a comparative study of three Asian countries – Vietnam, India and China. The project was implemented under the European Community 7th Framework Programme. Recommendations for regulation of maternal health services The HESVIC research systematically assessed the effects […]