Guinea-Bissau - National Institute of Public Health (INASA)

Transform the national public health system by creating a new NPHI

In a small corner of West Africa, policy makers have big hopes for reviving a public health system shattered by bitter civil war. Guinea-Bissau is one of the world’s poorest countries. The conflict and bombings that ravaged Guinea-Bissau in the late 1990s disrupted economic growth, impoverished the country, and left the public health system weak and fragmented. Efforts to carry out core public health functions were constrained by disrupted programs, loss of human resources, precarious laboratory capacity, and lack of external aid during and after the crisis.

The toll on public health was severe, and the country has since faced many serious disease outbreaks, including a devastating cholera epidemic in 2008-2009. As optimism returns, however, the country’s leaders are championing efforts to rebuild the national public health system and improve their population’s health.

Since 1995, Guinea-Bissau has been considering creating a national public health institute. Now that dream is becoming a reality. Propelled by enthusiastic leadership within the Ministry of Health, a team of stakeholders in Guinea-Bissau worked with peers from Fiocruz, IANPHI’s member institute in Brazil, to develop an organizational strategic plan for combining much of their current capacity into an NPHI.

With IANPHI funding, the new institute has brought together together and is beginning to strengthen the four components that currently conduct core public health functions: National Laboratory of Public Health Laboratory, Bandim Health Project, MOH Hygiene and Epidemiology Unit, and the National School of Public Health. This new entity will allow the country to realize its vision for a well-organized, substantive, and sustainable public health system.

Efforts to co-locate the four units are already underway, with renovation of a headquarters building on the campus of the National Laboratory. Improvements and capacity building within the lab are enabling scientists to continue the work disrupted by civil war and get on with the task of improving public health in their recovering nation. Complementary projects funded by other donors, such as the World Bank and the governments of Brazil and China, are aiding in facilities improvements and human resource development.

The cholera epidemic that occurred in Guinea-Bissau in 2008 dramatized the grave condition of the national public health system and the urgency of efforts to strengthen infrastructure and capacity. IANPHI’s project will position the new institute to secure support from other donors for public health system strengthening and serve as a model for other low-resource nations.

“The new institute represents hope for Guinea-Bissau’s public health future. By coordinating and providing leadership for core public health functions, the NPHI will transform our capacity to recognize and monitor health problems and respond with evidence-based policies and actions," says INASA President Amabelia Rodrigues.