Intensified Communicable Diseases Control Project
Our staff and contingent hires designed a $131 million Intensified Communicable Diseases Control Project in Indonesia for the Asian Development Bank. The purpose of the Project was to integrate four independent communicable disease programs and to decentralize their administration to the district level. Key features of the program were community involvement and financing of health activities and commodities, technical support from NGOs and private sector physicians, and the development of an improved demand driven health logistics system.

Four vaccine preventable disease problems were addressed in this effort:

• Tuberculosis

• Malaria

• Acute Respiratory Infections

• Measles

The strategic goals of the project included:

• Improving the health management system's capability to monitor disease patterns

• Promoting health financial analysis of project activities

• Improving health management information systems

• Developing training programs for health care providers to enable them to prioritize and address the most critical health problems

• Decentralizing health services

• Implementing information, education, and communications strategies to complement the actions of health personnel

Schistosomiasis Research Project
For 10 years, we managed this a $40 million research project funded by the USAID to assist Egyptian Ministry of Health to develop the tools, methods, and information necessary to control schistosomiasis.  The emphasis was on identifying better diagnostic tests and new treatment drugs, as well as the development of candidate vaccines for preventing the disease.  The project also assisted Egyptian medical institutions to conduct practical, control-oriented biomedical research.

We coordinated the research efforts of 62 participating organizations, including U.S. and Egyptian universities. This involved advising grantees on project design, developing grant documents for universities and research laboratories, and monitoring project results. To do this, we created financial, accounting, managerial, and procurement systems for the Egyptian Government which included:

• Steering and technical review committees

• Management information system

• Peer review teams

• Establishment of documentation for 62 grants and the administration of grant funds to U.S. universities

• Procurement of more than $4 million USD in equipment and commodities

• U.S. and international training for Egyptian scientists

The Vector Biology and Control Project (VBC I & II)
(1985 to 1994) We implemented a USAID-funded project for the control of Malaria, schistosomiasis, river blindness, Guinea worm disease and more than 20 other insect and snail borne diseases in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. With the help of consultants, our staff completed over 250 individual assignments in 43 USAID assisted countries. The VBC Project also involved four university subcontractors - Harvard University School of Public Health, Tulane University School of Tropical Public Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, and the Jackson Foundation which represented the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

Malaria Control Project
We provided planning and epidemiological expertise to the Government of El Salvador Malaria Control Program. This included technical assistance to the MOH in vector control and malaria case management, support for the development of an action plan to respond to dengue hemorrhagic fever epidemics, and training for volunteer collaborators in malaria control.

As a result of these efforts, the incidence of malaria in El Salvador was reduced by over 75%.

Malaria Control Program
Under a contract with Exxon, we developed a plan to reduce malaria risk among Exxon's oil drilling crew of 1,000 local and expatriate staff working in Africa. We also served as the Malaria Control Officer on the Exxon field medical team. The scope of work included developing:

• Data collection systems for field use

• Protocols for personal protection from malaria

• Mosquito control strategy

• Environmental management methods

• Malaria diagnosis and treatment services

We designed health service plans and protocols for service delivery, provided quality control services, performed diagnostic tests, trained field workers in prevention and supervised mosquito control operations.

Malaria Control Program
In July of 1998, we fielded a team consisting of a vector borne disease control specialist and a medical entomologist to evaluate the risks of malaria to Mobil staff members in Equatorial Guinea. The team conducted a survey of mosquito breeding sites, assessed biting and infection rates and determined the insecticide resistance/sensitivity status of larval and adult mosquitoes.

We then reviewed Mobil's program for preventing and diagnosing the disease, and developed protocols for improving abatement, bite protection and early diagnosis. As part of the assignment, our team members conducted training for Mobil medical staff in microscopic diagnosis of malaria and the effective use of insecticides and application equipment. A program for the control of larval mosquitoes was also developed. A public education forum was held for all Mobil staff to present the basic safety approaches to malaria management.