International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH)

03/08/2025

A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll shows that “nearly nine in ten (86%) adults overestimate the share of the federal budget spent on foreign aid, saying on average that the U.S. spends about a quarter (26%) of its budget on foreign aid.” The true figure is about 1%. This includes development, economic, and humanitarian assistance programs; global health alone accounts for less than 0.1% of the federal budget.

As part of this small investment, organizations like I-TECH have spent decades successfully fighting the spread of infectious disease, improving the health of vulnerable communities worldwide, and strengthening U.S. relationships around the globe.

This poll finds most of the public believe the cutbacks at USAID will lead to increases in illness and death in low-income countries. Nearly half say it will reduce the U.S. budget. Most of the public also overestimates the share of the federal budget that is spent on foreign aid, and when informed....

03/05/2025

A skilled health workforce leads to better health outcomes and lives saved. Since its inception 22+ years ago, I-TECH has developed more than 400 in-person, online, and hybrid training and educational products for multiple cadres of healthcare workers in low-resource settings.

12/19/2024

A Data Visualization Bootcamp, part of I-TECH's Informatics and Data Science for Health (IDASH) Fellowship Program, was held in Chișinău, Moldova, last week. Public health, data science, and IT professionals from , , , , , and came together at the bootcamp to strengthen their expertise in data visualization and analysis—key tools for informed decision-making in public health.

Twenty-two fellows participated in hands-on training with Power BI and R, collaborative exercises, and critical evaluations of datasets, equipping them to tackle pressing public health challenges in their home countries. The event was inaugurated by esteemed guests including Ion Prescaru (State Secretary, Ministry of Health of Moldova), Nicolae Jelamschi (Director, National Agency of Public Health of Moldova), Andrew Freeman (U.S. Embassy, Chișinău), Miljana Grbic (WHO), Eric-Jan Manders (CDC EECA Regional Office), and David Pigott (University of Washington).

Speakers highlighted the vital role of the IDASH Fellowship Program in the post-COVID era, emphasizing the importance of health informatics and data science in strengthening public health systems, fostering regional collaboration, and building capacity to address future crises.

Additional participants pictured include:
Dilfakor Mirdjalilov – CDC EECA Regional Office
Tsira Chakhaia – CDC EECA Regional Office
Bobby Reiner – University of Washington
S***a Jamburidze – University of Washington
Oleg Colesnicenco – WHO, Moldova
Ruslana Flocea – WHO, Moldova
Lilia Jelamschi – USAID, Moldova

10/29/2024

As part of the Informatics and Data Science for Health (IDASH) fellowship, regional director of I-TECH's INSIGHT project in Latin America, Fernanda Freistadt, MPH, met last week with the Brazil state team. This included technicians from the Health Intelligence Center of Rio de Janeiro and representatives from the Strategic Intelligence Center for State Management of the Unified Health System (Cieges)/National Council of Secretaries of Health (CONASS). The group discussed ways to improve the data visualization process from operational, tactical, and strategic points of view to facilitate decision-making in health.

09/11/2024

So proud to support critical efforts to connect our Triple Borders partners in South America!

08/15/2024

Congrats to the fellowship team in Ecuador, who presented progress on their project: “One Health Situational Room - Epidemiological Analysis of Health Care Associated Infections (IAAS) an Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Ecuador,” which will be a computer-based health surveillance tool that generates and analyzes timely information for decision-making. The team is made up of governance, information and communications technology (ICT), statistics, and public health and epidemiology research professionals from the Ministerio de Salud Pública (MSP) of Ecuador.

07/09/2024

I-TECH is so proud to be working with Conass Nacional and to welcome representatives of the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco and the Federal District to the fellowship program!

As emergências em saúde têm acontecido em intervalos de tempo cada vez menores e a tomada de decisão em tempo oportuno para atender às demandas advindas dessas situações, já é uma realidade frequente na vida dos gestores públicos. Para auxiliá-los, a ciência de dados e a informática apl...

06/20/2024

Congratulations to the IDASH team and partners for another successful launch, expanding its footprint to South America! The program, originally implemented in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, has been adapted for contexts in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru. The fellowship supports a health workforce that is well-trained in digital health and understands health informatics and data system requirements to support public health functions. https://www.go2itech.org/2024/06/idash-fellowship-launches-in-south-america/

05/01/2024

The first cohort of the Informatics and Data Science For Health (IDASH) Program has graduated! Fellows hailed from Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan -- congratulations, вітаю, and поздравления!

Fellows gained critical knowledge and skills to help strengthen capacity to use public health information systems and data to improve population-level health outcomes, effectively detect and respond to public health threats, and promote health equity. We can't wait to see the positive impact of their hard work in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) region!

CDC
World Health Organization (WHO)

Learn more about the IDASH program: https://www.go2itech.org/idash/

04/11/2024

Join the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center on April 25 for “Together We Can Stop Cervical Cancer: A Conversation with Linda Eckert and Tanjila Taskin,” where Dr. Linda Eckert will be discussing her book "Enough: Because We Can Stop Cervical Cancer."

Learn more about the event, read a Q&A with Dr. Eckert, and register today! https://www.discovergates.org/events/together-we-can-stop-cervical-cancer/

04/04/2024

Last week, I-TECH was honored to host two of our esteemed, indefatigable colleagues from our team: Alyona Ihnatiuk, Strategic Information Lead, and Dr. Oksana Danylenko, Clinical Lead. Ms. Ihnatiuk and Dr. Danylenko gave a riveting talk on the team's ongoing public health work and resilience amid full-scale war and massive upheaval. Check out what they had to say about their experience: https://youtu.be/gMj-iLWwEC8?si=kmtxhCmWStkbtv7r

Today is also at the University of Washington! If you can, consider giving to the I-TECH Humanitarian Fund, which supports ongoing public health and humanitarian aid in and other underserved communities and communities in crisis: https://www.washington.edu/giving/make-a-gift/?code=ITECHF&page=make&ifGuid=46e9101c-0537-4a2e-b9a9-937485733722

03/25/2024

“Tuberculosis is a serious health threat, especially for people living with HIV....Worldwide, TB is one of the leading causes of death among people living with HIV.” (TB and HIV Coinfection, cdc.gov)

Addressing coinfection has been a key part of I-TECH’s HIV programming strategy since our inception more than two decades ago. As just two examples, today:

In , I-TECH oversees TB and HIV services in more than 750 health facilities, as well as development of updated and evidence-based national-level TB guidance, policy, training materials, and strategic information and reporting systems.

In , I-TECH conducts mentoring sessions for clinical management of HIV/TB, as well as MDR and XDR-TB cases, and implements a Contact Case Investigation through screening of patient contacts to increase the finding of new TB cases and link cases to care.